Priestess of the shinobi
by Ilargi iluna
Summary: NaruIY crossover. Naraku's dead, the wish is made. They changed something they shouldn't have and the future is not what it used to be. How will Kakashi deal with a 25 year old Kagome who's not weak or naive anymore? Too bad Konoha needs her desperately.
1. Nightfall

_**I will only write the disclaimer once, but it applies to whole story. I really want to own Naruto and Inuyasha, but the authors won't give the up. Damn.**_

**Priestess of the shinobi**

**1: Nightfall**

_**Quietly it crept a new horror**_

_**insanity reigned…**_

"_I wish for Kikyo to be brought back to life."_

_All of a sudden, a blinding light erupted from the small and seemingly innocuous pink bauble and surrounded the young priestess, hiding her from her friends' sight._

"_Kagome!!" shouted both the youkai slayer and the small kitsune at the same time. They launched themselves where the miko had been standing, only to be repelled by the same force that was creating the light._

_The usually composed monk stood still, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape as he watched helplessly while the body of his dear friend faded away among the bright flames of the purple fire, never to return._

_The stoic Western Lord observed, his face expressionless as ever, as the troublesome pink bauble gave one last pulse of light, before disappearing into thin air. Despite his cold façade he inwardly mourned the loss of such a remarkable creature._

_The loud, obnoxious, red clad hanyou could only stare, mouth opening and closing alternatively__, as the soul ripped away from his best friend's body flew straight to the broken corpse of the undead priestess that laid nearby. There was only one word that escaped his dry, cracked lips._

"_Kagome…"_

* * *

The former members of the infamous team 7 of Konoha darted across the lush forests of the fire country, silent as only the most gifted shinobi were able to. Not a leaf, not a branch moved as they jumped from tree to tree, intent on finishing this mission as fast as possible.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei! Where are we going to start looking for it?" Naruto asked, as loud as ever.

Kakashi repressed a sigh. It just wasn't worth reminding his former student that stealth was mandatory for ninja, if they wanted to keep their heats nice and beating, that is.

"We have already talked to the Kazekage, and he says that they have no idea about it. They haven't been affected yet, so they just don't know what we are up against. This thing seems to come from the East, so it's our best bet" he answered, giving the blond a happy eye crease that was meant to keep their spirits high. On the inside, however, he was anything but hopeful. This was the biggest disaster they had faced since the Kyuubi, and that time at least they had been able to fight back. But this epidemic… none of the medics had even heard about anything similar; much less had an idea about how to get rid of it. It was like poisoning, but there was no way to rid the victim of the toxin. Not even Tsunade-sama had been able to do anything for the ones affected, and all of them had died in a three day's time range. It was a frustrating situation, and most shinobi of the leaf had started to despair, since almost everyone had lost someone close. Shaking his head to get rid of such thoughts, he went on jumping through the trees. He was a shinobi on a mission, and failure was not an option. Not this time.

When night came it found four shinobi sitting around a small campfire. They were tired and frustrated and very worried about their friends and families back in the village. Kakashi for once didn't feel like reading his small dirty orange book, and that had the rest of his team worried.

"Umm, Kakashi-sensei, are you feeling alright?" Sakura's voice snapped him out of his reverie. A lazy grey eye focused on her green ones, before he asked:

"Of course I am, why do you ask?"

She arched an eyebrow, as if it were pretty obvious. Kakashi wondered if his face had turned green or something. Well, at least the small portion of it they were allowed to see.

"I think it's the first time I've seen you make camp without taking out your precious porn." she stated, matter-of-factly.

"Whoa! It's true, sensei, you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked, reaching over to touch Kakashi's brow, feeling for a fever. The copy-nin brushed him off, a little annoyed. There had been plenty of times in which he'd made camp without reading, he told himself, the fact that he couldn't seem to remember any in that very moment was just an unfortunate coincidence. He was about to tell them that when the putrid scent of rotting corpses and acid reached his nose. He shot up immediately, quickly picking up his gear.

"Hey, sensei, don't get all riled up, it's not like we mind or anything…" Naruto started, but the silver headed jounin cut him off.

"It's that black thing. Quickly! Pick everything up, and get ready to leave" he instructed. The three younger shinobi immediately went into battle mode and had it all ready in mere seconds' time.

"Let's go" Kakashi said, but as he was turning to leave he felt something coming at him from his left. His ninja instincts kicking in, he evaded a spiked tentacle that had been shot his way. Looking around he became aware of multiple eyes surrounding them. Without a second thought he lifted his headband and opened his sharingan eye. What he saw made him curse under his breath.

"We are surrounded" spoke the Uchiha from behind him. He too had activated his bloodline technique and was studying the creatures around them with cold, calculating eyes.

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were in the middle of their camp, standing back to back and with their kunai readily held in their hands.

'_They make a good team' _Kakashi mused to himself. Hand hovering over his own kunai holster, he imparted the orders.

"Stay close to each other and look for a way out. If we come in contact with the black thing we're done for, so don't fight any more than necessary." He instructed them. He didn't need to see their nods of agreement to know that they had heard him.

He readied himself to do the same thing, but his command was easier said than done. The nightmarish creatures had them completely surrounded, and the black poisonous mist hung around them like a sickening aura. He berated himself for not having noticed them earlier, but in truth, he had no way of doing so. The beasts didn't have any chakra to speak of, and that made them undetectable to Kakashi by any means but the usual, which weren't effective until they were too close.

The attackers began to move closer, randomly launching attacks at the shinobi that were repelled by well placed slashes of kunai, or the occasional shuriken. This, however, didn't deter the beasts as they closed in more and more. Kakashi's hands moved faster than the eye could follow as they formed seals.

"CHIDORI!!!" he screamed, as he charged against the vile creatures. They fell, at least twenty of them, but for each that fell three more took its place, their mouths dripping between razor sharp teeth. He fell back into a crouch again, his breathing laboured after the amount of chakra he'd just spent, but his kunai held firmly in front of him. That was when he heard the scream.

"AAAAAAAHH!!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs as a slimy but strong green limb wrapped around her, effectively binding both her arms to her body, and started dragging her to an enormous round mouth that was eagerly awaiting its treat. She was nearly there when Sasuke cut off the offending tentacle while Naruto watched their backs. They managed to bring her back to the centre of the camp.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" the loud blond bellowed above the sounds of battle.

Sakura was looking dazedly at the long gash on her left arm, while she focused her chakra to try and suck the black poison that had gotten into it with the right one. To no avail.

"Kakashi, this is bad, Sakura's been poisoned, and I can find no way out!" Sasuke called, an undertone of concern in his usually cold voice.

"Dammit!" Kakashi muttered. This was bad indeed. If they tried to break through the creatures they'd all get poisoned and die, and if not those things were going to eat them alive. There had to be a fucking way out!

Suddenly, a purple light lit up the night around them, and he could swear he saw an arrow surrounded by purple fires that cut through the swarm of creatures on his left, instantly turning them to glowing silver ash. Several more arrows followed the first, and in less than five minutes all the dark creatures were gone, turned to ash by the glowing arrows. The ninjas couldn't help but gawk at the sight.

Naruto was the first to recover, startled out of it by the reaction of the Kyuubi, that as soon as the first arrow was shot had let out a loud growl in warning, but had retreated to a corner, as if afraid.

"Whoa, sensei, what the hell was _that_??!!" he asked, awe obvious in his loud comment.

Kakashi just made a shushing sound. There was someone there, presumably the one who had shot the arrows, and they still didn't know if it was friend or foe.

"Whoever is out there, show yourself!" He called, not really expecting an answer, but it was worth a try. However much to his surprise, he heard footsteps approaching. They were rather loud in his ears. Whoever this was, it was no shinobi. He couldn't feel any chakra either. At last, he could see movement behind some bushes, and a glimpse of red and white. Two hands, one of them holding a long bow, parted some low branches and a young woman made her appearance into the clearing. She was wearing the traditional miko haori and hakamas, strangely combined with…

'_Sneakers? What the hell…' _Kakashi thought. Shaking his head, he approached the newcomer, still unsure of whose side she was on. _'Well, certainly not on those creatures' one.'_

"Who are you?" he asked, warily, but lowering his kunai as he approached her. If she tried anything, he'd have enough time to react anyway, and he didn't want to scare away a possible ally.

The woman's brown eyes fixed on him and he nearly stopped dead on his tracks. Even though she was probably younger than himself, those deep pools of brown held within them the wisdom of one that had seen everything in this life, and survived to tell the tale. Still, they weren't cold, but warm and welcoming. He could feel himself drowning in them, until her voice brought him out of his reverie.

"My name's Higurashi Kagome" she introduced herself in a clear voice. "Are all of you okay?" she asked then, as her gaze swept over the components of the team. She stopped when it reached Sakura, and her brow creased a little in a frown. Naruto confirmed her suspicions, even as Sasuke tried to silence him. They still didn't know if she was an enemy, and it wouldn't do to tell her if one of their team mates had been injured.

"Sakura-chan got that weird black stuff into her arm!" he said, tears pooling in his eyes. Another one. He had already lost Shino (though he didn't know him much) and Hanabi, and Hinata too had been poisoned the day before. And now he was going to loose Sakura-chan too! It was unfair, and the fact that he couldn't do a thing to prevent it only made it worse. Bitter tears started running down his marred cheeks, as he slammed his fists into the ground. Sakura was barely conscious by then.

Kagome made a beeline to where the pink haired girl was laying, ignoring the threatening glare the black haired boy was giving her. He could glare his eyes out for all she cared, she was not going to let the poor girl die because of him. Besides, after being at the receiving end of Sesshoumaru's glares on several occasions, well… let's just say that the boy wasn't in the least bit intimidating.

"Let me see" she told Naruto as she fell to her knees on the side of the girl that the blond wasn't currently occupying and she took her injured arm in her hands. She grimaced slightly at the amount of miasma the girl had managed to get into herself.

'_This is going to hurt'_ she thought as she placed her right hand over the wound. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated her purification powers on the palm of her hand and started drawing the miasma into her own body, where she would be able to purify it.

"Hold her down, this isn't going to be pretty" she muttered under her breath, as the purple flames surged from her hand and dragged the black poison that had covered the girl's arm in dark veins up to her shoulder.

When the sickening black substance started coming out of her body, Sakura released an anguished scream, thrashing her head from side to side while Naruto held her shoulders, trying not to hurt her. Kakashi and Sasuke had come close, and a good thing they did too, for they would have struck the odd woman down hadn't it been for the fact that they could see the poison leaking out from their team mate. Still, they cringed with every scream, sob and whimper the girl released.

Kagome wasn't much better off, either. Bringing the miasma to her body was as painful an experience as having it drawn out, but she bit her lip in order to keep from calling out herself. She could feel the filthy substance flowing into her system, her arms cramping painfully with every inch it advanced into her flesh, as she directed the powers that were itching to purify it to suck more out of the girl's body instead. Sweat beads formed on her brow as she concentrated on her task, and a couple of minutes later she had drawn it all into her body, so she backed up a bit before raising her aura to purify it all.

The three shinobi watched in awe as the woman released Sakura's now poison free arm and, after distancing herself a little, summoned raging purple flames that surrounded her small frame, burning away the black toxin she had drawn into her own body. Finally, the flames died down and Kagome was left panting on the forest ground, her brow coated in sweat and feeling more exhausted than she had since she left the feudal era. She laid sprawled on the ground for a moment, trying to calm her breathing and forget the pain. That miasma was certainly a nasty thing. She had thought she'd never have to deal with it again, but it seemed that she had been wrong. She sat up slowly again and looked at her audience.

"Is she alright?" she asked tiredly, bracing on her arms.

"She is coming to it" the silver headed jounin answered her question. "You know how to cure that thing?" he asked needlessly, his tone urgent. He fought back the urge to shake the answer out of her when she didn't answer right away.

Kagome was tired, sleepy, and had just undergone one hell of a painful experience, so she felt like she deserved to be a little cranky.

"Of course I can, you have just seen it" she huffed, crossing her arms in a childish manner. Then she thought better of it and, picking herself up, she hung her bow across her shoulder and prepared to leave. She still had quite the walk to her small cottage and she had to carry back the fish she had caught. Hopefully no greedy animal had taken them away while she was fighting off youkai. She started walking off when the one that seemed to be the leader called her.

"You need to come with us, Kagome-san" he spoke, matter of factly.

Kagome stopped on her tracks, starting to get angry. _'The nerve of that one!'_ Spinning around, she walked up to the masked guy with the silver hair (What was it with silver hair and being bossy?) until her upturned nose was inches away from his chin.

"Look buddy, I don't know who you think you are, but I don't know you and I most definitely do not abide by your orders, so just be grateful that I saved your sorry asses and I'll be on my way" she spat at him, growing more angry with every word. She spun around once again only to have the man grab her arm with his glove clad hand. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when she heard the blond talking to her. She was lost the moment she turned to look at him.

Naruto had his best puppy eyes trained on the young miko, slightly wet big blue sincere eyes that could possibly rival Shippo's. It was a lost battle and she knew it the moment she saw them. However, even without the eyes, Naruto's next words would have probably made her go with them either way.

"Please, Kagome-chan? A lot of people in our village have been poisoned with that thing and some have already died. Our friends, our families…" the moisture in his blue eyes concentrated on the rims as he fought the tears back. "My girlfriend is dying too, Kagome-chan. Please, come with us" he pleaded.

Kagome couldn't possibly deny him and still call herself a priestess, so she relented. She couldn't let innocent people die if she could do something to avoid it. Releasing a long, suffering sigh, she hung her head in defeat. Clearly, there wouldn't be a moment of peace for her in the next days.

"If that's the case, then I'll go with you. Just let me get my backpack and we'll be on our way" she said.

* * *

A quick run to her cottage later, Kagome found herself clinging for dear life to the silver haired shinobi's back, as he carried her from tree to tree back to their village, the way Inuyasha had used to. However, this ninja didn't inspire her as much confidence as the gruff hanyou had. The shy black haired boy carried the girl, who was still too weak to keep the pace by herself, while the loud blonde had ended up with everyone's packs. He didn't seem to mind, though.

"So you are a real miko then?" he asked her confused "I thought that mikos just burned incense at temples and said prayers and that boring stuff" he mused out loud "Hey Kagome-chan, could you teach me?" he asked hopefully.

Kagome laughed at that one. The boy was hilarious in his curiosity, and she had missed the company lately.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun, either you're born with them or not. I didn't choose to have my powers" she said, sadly remembering everything she'd given up because of them. "Anyway, I don't think you could be a priest while being a half demon"

She snickered at the though of Inuyasha wearing Miroku's robes and throwing ofuda. It just didn't seem right. It was a while before she realized that they had stopped and that everyone was looking at her with suspicion. Well, except for Naruto, who was gawking at her.

"What?" she asked, her eyes darting from one to another. Just what had she done this time?

"How… How do you know about the Kyuubi?" Naruto stuttered.

"Huh? The Kyuubi? What's that?" she asked in confusion.

She was suddenly dropped on a tree branch (a very high tree branch) and the masked ninja that had been carrying her spun to face her, his one visible eye piercing her as if he was trying to read her mind. What was wrong with these people?

"The Kyuubi" the black haired ninja stated, landing near her, "is the demon Naruto has inside of him. The one you just referred to. And the one you shouldn't have known about if you were as innocent as you make yourself look" he told her rather harshly. "Speak up, woman! Who are you, who do you work for and which are your orders?"

Kagome felt her anger rising once again. Honestly! One would think that after saving them from being eaten alive they would be a little more grateful!

"Okay, stop there, little guy, don't get your panties in a tie! My name, as I told you, is Higurashi Kagome, I work for no one, and so I have no orders. And the only reason I know about his demon is because I am a friggin priestess, which means that I can feel the auras, especially demonic ones. Does that answer your question?" she spoke, rather mockingly. It still amused her that the boy tried to intimidate her.

"Why would we believe your word?" Kakashi asked her. He was still confused by this woman. Reason told him that they should be suspicious, that nobody gave that much without a reason, but… each time she looked at her in the eyes he saw so much warmth and friendliness that he couldn't help but believe that this was a creature of good a purity, so very different from what they were used to see. He just didn't know which one he should heed.

"You don't have to, that's entirely up to you. But if what he said about your village is true, then you should make up your minds damn fast, 'cause miasma poisoning takes three days at most to reach the heart and kill the victim, so as we speak, your friends will be dying out there" she told him, shrugging. She was tired of trying to convince them to let her help. If they didn't want to then why had they asked? "Look, if it'll make you feel better, you can blindfold me so I won't know the secret location of your village, but I won't let you tie me up. If youkai attack us you'll be needing my arrows" she bargained.

Kakashi made up his mind. Even if it was a trap, they'd probably all die from poisoning sooner or later, so it was worth a shot. They'd just have to keep her watched at all times.

"Very well, we'll blindfold you, then depart" he announced.

"Peachy, now let's get going. The more we wait the more people that'll die, and I'd like to avoid that" she said as Kakashi tied a strip of cloth around her head, still wondering if he'd made the right decision.

They had been running for hours (Kagome had lost count of just how many, as she had fallen asleep for a while), and she was wondering just how far that village of theirs was when she felt a huge demonic aura. Well, not a big one, more like thousands of small ones. They seemed to be headed to the same place as them, but from a different direction and she didn't like it one bit. These bunches of lower youkai all herded together brought her rather unpleasant memories, and she prayed she wouldn't have to face anything similar ever again. She had seen too much bloodshed, pain and despair to last ten lifetimes already, she didn't need to add to that count. Tightening her hold on the ninja carrying her (Kakashi, was it?) she leaned close to where she supposed his ear was and proceeded to warn him of what they had coming.

"Hmm… Kakashi? I hate to disturb you, but there's a rather big bunch of nasty lower youkai up ahead, about one and two miles away, I'd say. I thought you might want to know" she told him, half mockingly. It didn't sit well with her that the people she was helping would have such little confidence in her.

She felt a vacuum in her stomach as the copy-nin jumped to the ground, then she was lowered once again, this time more gently. She blinked a couple of times when the blindfold was removed from her eyes and she popped her arms and legs, working the stiffness out of them. It felt good to be on solid ground once again. Clinging to a near stranger's back, blindfolded, while he jumped from tree to tree was not on the top of her fun things to do chart. She beamed happily at the masked face of her personal carrier.

Kakashi couldn't help the small smile that formed on his face when she looked at him like that. She looked positively angelic. However, that would have to wait until they'd made it back in one piece to Konoha. He held high hopes that they would.

The remaining three nins landed quietly beside them, waiting for an explanation to the interruption. Kagome told them what she had felt.

"But that means Konoha is under attack!" Naruto all but shouted, making Sasuke grit his teeth at his loudness. He would never understand how he had managed to stay alive that long with all the noise he made.

"So it seems" Kakashi agreed "We should hurry back, the creatures… youkai, they can fend off, but they have no way to defend themselves from that miasma"

"Let's go then, before we're too late" Kagome intervened, heading in the direction of the youkai. The four shinobi nodded in agreement, and quickly took off after her, Kakashi picking her up without breaking his stride, ignoring Kagome's loud protests with a happy eye crease. They were in a hurry, and it would only be a couple of minutes anyway.

They arrived at the huge clearing in which the village stood just in time to see a large swarm of low level youkai, not unlike the ones Naraku used to command, breaking into the same clearing from their right. There was no time to make strategy, so Kagome did the only thing she could think of. Running like a bat out of hell, she charged at the approaching youkai, bow in hand. She was too far for her shots to be effective. Once she was about a hundred feet away she drew an arrow and tensed, feeling her power charge it. The shot she released wiped away the first three lines of youkai entirely, but there were too many of them. She wouldn't be able to finish them before they reached the village.

"Dammit!" she swore.

She looked behind her, only to see that the four shinobi had taken positions surrounding her, in case any stray youkai came at her from her back. She smiled gratefully at them. She had to find a way to help them, but how… If only she could keep the miasma from reaching the village, then she'd have no problem wiping that vermin from the face of the planet. Then her face lit up, as an idea began to take form in her mind. It could work…

"Hey guys!" she called even as she shot another glowing arrow at the mindless youkai. "I can't hold them all off at the same time. I'm going to place a barrier around the village so I can concentrate on killing them" they nodded in understanding. "Naruto, you need to go into the village, the barrier won't let you through with the youkai you have inside. Take Sakura with you, she's still too weak from the poisoning." When he nodded she directed her gaze at the two remaining shinobi. "I'll need you two to watch my back while I do it, I won't be able to defend myself for a while" they nodded too, though Sasuke didn't seem too thrilled to be at her command. However, he understood that she knew what she was doing more than anyone here, so he swallowed his pride and complied.

Kagome shot another arrow, covering Naruto and Sakura's mad dash for the village, then dropped her bow and concentrated. She had only once made a barrier that big, and this one would need to stand for a while. If there were poisoned people in there then it would be her priority to heal them first. Taking a deep breath, she searched in her soul for the glowing white source of her powers. She mentally formed it into a fountain, in which she dipped her spiritual hands, cupping them so she could draw the glowing liquid that were her powers and let them rain on the village in front of her, forming a glittering barrier that slowly dulled to the usual purple glow.

Kakashi watched, once again awe struck as a glittering rain solidified into a barrier around Konoha. Just in time too, for moments later the most advanced youkai slammed against it, only to be thrown back with a jolt of purity that turned the weakest of them to dust. _'Just how powerful is this woman?'_ he wondered.

He watched her sway slightly as she finished the barrier, momentarily spent, but that moment of distraction would cost him, for he was too slow noticing a stray spear thrown her way. Sasuke had his back to it, as he was guarding her other side, so he hadn't seen it. He barely had the time to push her out of the way and take the spear to his left shoulder. He fell to the ground and pulled it out instantly, but he could feel the dark miasma entering his system, slowly flowing though his veins. He had to bite back a scream of agony, and wondered how she had born it earlier. The burning poison made him feel like his flesh was being melted away. '_Ibiki would love it' _he thought off-handedly, his consciousness slipping away.

Meanwhile, Kagome had managed to recover from the strain of building the barrier and had picked her bow again, this time to clear their way to the village. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, the barrier had taken more energy than expected. Having Kakashi injured would only handicap them further, they needed to make it back right then.

"Sasuke!" she called. He turned immediately, only to find his captain injured on the ground. His eyes widened slightly. "Sasuke, we need to make it to the village, can you carry Kakashi? I'll cover us" Kagome urged, worried about Kakashi. His wound was too close to his heart for comfort.

Sasuke nodded and picked him up, just as Kagome shot another arrow that cleared their path of both youkai and miasma. When she reached for yet another one, Kagome noticed that it was her last arrow. Cursing in a way that actually made Sasuke look back at her, wondering where a priestess would have learned such language (if he only knew…), she notched it on her bow and ran after the young shinobi, praying to the Kami that it would be enough.

They were scarce fifty feet from the barrier when youkai began closing in once again. Kagome panted heavily, the strain on her powers and the overwhelming youki wearing her down to her limits. She raised her bow one last time with shaky hands before releasing the arrow that would clear their path to the barrier, then fell to her knees, exhausted.

Sasuke saw her fall and turned back, muttering under his breath as he picked her up too, then infused chakra into his feet and ran for the barrier. He barely made it in time to avoid loosing his foot to the sharp claws of a vicious looking youkai. He left his charges on the ground as he pounded the closed doors of the village walls.

Kagome, barely conscious as she was, crawled over to Kakashi's still form. His breath was laboured and irregular, and his face was contorted in a grimace of barely restrained agony. Opening his shirt to inspect the wound, she found that the dark tendrils had almost made it to his heart. She had to do something and she had to do it now, or he would certainly die. Well, she wasn't about to let that happen, not if she had a say in it.

She placed her hand on the wound and once again concentrated on drawing out the miasma. He didn't have as much as Sakura had before, but the location was far worse. She needed to hurry. She bit her lip until she bled when the searing pain shot through her palm and into her body, but fought to keep conscious. This man's life depended on it. In an enormous display of willpower she managed to get it all out and purify it from her body just as the doors were opened for them to come in. Then, she allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness for a well deserved nap.


	2. Heaven can wait

_**I am overwhelmed by your response to the first chapter guys… I love you all, thank you so very much!!**_

_**I hope you like this one at least as much! Please, let me know!**_

**2: Heaven can wait**

_**Hey, little angel, don't you tell me that it's over**_

_**You're just a bad reflection from above**_

_**The load upon my shoulders gives me reasons to get older**_

_**Tell the Boss I haven't had enough**_

_**And Heaven can wait!**_

Tsunade was in her office, buried under tons of medical books and scrolls. In fact, she'd been there for two days straight now, since she sent Team Kakashi in search for a cure for the poisonous black thing that was feasting on her shinobi. Since they knew nothing of this disease, she'd left Shizune in charge of the hospital and locked herself in her office to do research, but she hadn't been able to find anything so far and there were only a few scrolls left for her to review. Releasing a loud sigh, she let her head fall on the table for a moment, toying with the idea of calling someone to her office just to take her frustrations out on them. Either that or drowning herself in sake. Yeah, maybe that way she'd be too drunk to notice her ninjas dying in front of her eyes while she was unable to do a fucking thing to stop it.

"Dammit all to hell!!" she yelled in frustration. There had to be one fucking book, scroll, scrap of paper, whatever, that had some reference on the cursed thing! She should have known something like this was going to happen when she had won that pack of aged sake at the local pub! She slammed her fists on her desk only to have it crack under the pressure, bringing down with it everything she'd been reading.

"Arghh!" she bellowed.

She was ready to pull her hair out when the door slammed open and Izumo and Kotetsu stormed into the room, both of them sporting identical looks of urgency.

"Hokage-sama, team Kakashi has returned" Izumo started, without even noticing the mess his boss had managed to create while they'd been gone. "Naruto is at the doors with Sakura and…" his speech was curt short when said shinobi pushed him out of the way to get into the Hokage's office.

"Tsunade-baa!!" he shouted, "You've gotta come with me! We found this really weird miko who can heal the poison, but there was a really big bunch of these creatures outside the village and she made a barrier to stop them and now Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme are stuck out with her! We gotta help them!" he told her, managing to finish before the need to breathe forced him to stop.

Tsunade stared at him as if he had suddenly grown another head. When she processed the information he'd given her only one thing clung to her mind.

"THE VILLAGE'S UNDER ATTACK?!" she yelled, jumping over the wrecked desk and grabbing Naruto's shoulders, then proceeding to shake him till he saw little stars dancing around his eyes.

"Whoa, easy there, Tsunade-baa! The village's safe, but we gotta help the rest into the barrier before they're toast!" Naruto said, grabbing the very stunned Hokage's wrist and pulling her along as he shot out of the tower. "C'mon, we ain't got any time to waste!" he told her as he jumped onto a rooftop and sped to the village gates, the busty blonde hot on his heels.

They arrived at the main gate in record time, only to find a small crowd already there and more people coming their way. As they weaved through the people Tsunade spotted Sakura leaning against a wall. Her medical eye immediately kicked in as she noted the paleness of her student's skin and her shaking knees. She didn't seem to be injured, though, save for a shallow gash on her left arm. Worried, she grabbed the blond shinobi ahead of her by the collar of his shirt, making him choke until he stopped walking.

"What's wrong with Sakura?" she asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

Naruto blinked at her a couple of times. "Huh? Sakura-chan? Why do you ask?" he then turned his eyes in the direction Tsunade's were looking and remembered. "Oh, she's okay, Kagome-chan took the poison out of her and now she's a bit drowsy, that's all. Come on, we've got to get to the rest!" And with that he took off again, leaving a once again stunned Hokage to follow.

'_Who the hell is Kagome-chan? She took the poison out? How?' _Without further ado she sped after the blond. The questions would have to wait, it seemed.

She caught up with Naruto when he reached the guard posts on one side of the gate, and only then noticed the purple barrier that surrounded Konoha in a glowing semi-sphere that repelled the disgusting creatures trying to get past it. She stared wide eyed at the… things that kept slamming into the purple shield. Just what the hell were_ those_? She forced her mouth shut when she heard Naruto cursing at the guards.

"Open the fucking gates already, you idiot! Can't you see that Kakashi-sensei's wounded?!" he yelled angrily at the guard, who was adamantly refusing to open them with those things so close. The fact that some of them were actually flying didn't seem to cross his mind.

At Naruto's comment Tsunade looked down to see Kakashi sprawled on the floor, his shirt torn open and blood seeping from a wound on his left shoulder. However, that wasn't what made Tsunade gasp, but the dark tendrils spreading from the wound and into his body. There was a raven haired woman dressed in the traditional priestess robes laying next to him, braced on one arm while the other she extended till the hand was hovering over the shinobi's wound. She was wondering what the hell the woman was doing when purple flames surged from her hand and started sucking the venomous substance from Kakashi's body. She couldn't see her face, but saw the way her back tensed and started trembling while she did this.

"TSUNADE-BAA!!"

Breaking out of her reverie, she angrily yelled at the guards to open the cursed gate and returned her attention to what was happening down there, just in time to see the woman's head collapse onto Kakashi's chest. The wound was still bleeding, but there was no sign of the black tendrils that had once grown from it.

Feeling for the first time in days small rays of hope filtering through her dark thoughts she jumped to the ground, and started yelling orders to take Kakashi and the woman to the hospital, and to find Sakura and drag her there too for a check up. Maybe, just maybe, everything wasn't lost yet.

* * *

Kagome woke up to a bright light and several voices whispering around her, one of them significantly louder than the others, and immediately wished she could go back to sleep. Her head felt as if a train had entered through one of her ears and exited through the other. Groaning, she lifted one of her hands to cover her eyes and was about to tell the voices to fuck off and let her sleep when she recalled the events previous to her loss of consciousness.

"But Tsunade-baa, Hinata-chan looks really, really sick! She's stopped moving altogether and won't react even if we pinch her hand!" she heard Naruto whine, desperation tingeing his voice.

"There's nothing that we can do until she awakens, Naruto. We'll have to wait" said a female voice that she didn't recognize.

"Isn't there anything we can give her so that she'll wake up, Tsunade-shisou?" asked Sakura from some place nearby.

"Nothing that we haven't tried already" said the unknown voice. "She's in a coma-like state, though she doesn't seem to have sustained any injury."

Kagome was quickly regaining her bearings, and coughed to gain the attention of the people in what seemed to be a hospital room. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her as she struggled to sit up on the bed she'd been placed on. Naruto quickly ran to her side and helped her up.

"Kagome-chan, you've got to come heal Hinata-chan. You said that she'd die if the black thing reached the heart and it was about an inch away a couple of minutes ago!" he pleaded with her.

With great difficulty, Kagome tossed the covers off of her and lowered her feet to the ground. Naruto helped steady her.

"Take me to her" she told him, determination in her eyes.

"Do you need anything to aid you in the healing?" asked the busty blond who had talked earlier. She seemed to be in charge. "I am Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha, and I hear that you have already met my student, Sakura. We are both skilled medics, we could aid you if you tell us how. I will also have the rest of the medic staff here at the hospital help if necessary."

Kagome shook her head tiredly, as she started walking towards the door. That barrier had truly taken much more than she'd thought it would.

"You can't treat miasma if you don't have holy powers. Once I have taken the poison out the wound should be healed as any other" she paused for a moment. "Just how many people have been poisoned?" she asked.

"Around fifty" Tsunade told her, as they walked down the hall as fast as Kagome could manage.

The miko grimaced at the painful experience she had ahead of her, hanging her head dejectedly. Taking a deep breath she steeled her resolve and turned to answer to the Hokage, who was watching her curiously. They stopped in front of a door, that presumably lead to the room in which Naruto's girlfriend was staying, and she paused for a moment.

"Have the patients ordered by the distance between the miasma and their hearts, the closer it is the sooner I'll attend to them. Also, I'd be grateful if you could give me some sort of energy drink or something of the kind if you have. The barrier has brought my stamina to a minimum and I'd want to heal the most serious cases before I pass out again, so that all of them have a chance at survival." she told Tsunade, who nodded and sent Sakura in search for something called soldier pills before setting off herself to arrange the rest of the patients.

Kagome then turned to Naruto, who led her into the room. There was a tall man with dark hair and strange white eyes standing next to a single bed in which laid a beautiful pale skinned girl with deep black purplish hair. They had lowered the collar of her hospital gown so they could monitor the advance of the poison towards her heart.

Kagome noticed in alarm that Naruto hadn't exaggerated one bit. Letting out a small gasp she stumbled to the girl's bedside. The man next to it seemed to snap out of his reverie and notice them for the first time. He made a move to stop her, but Naruto cut him short.

"Don't!" the man lifted his piercing gaze to the orange clad shinobi. "She healed Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei. She's the only who can heal Hinata-chan, Hyuuga-sama." He told him, a pleading look on his eyes.

Oblivious to their exchange, Kagome had already reached the bedside and extended her hand over the girl's side, where she had taken the wound that had poisoned her. Taking a deep breath, she called her powers forwards and tried not to wince at the burning pain that shot up her arm.

Naruto and Hiashi watched anxiously as the purple fire extracted the poisonous miasma from the young girl's body. Fortunately for her, she was too far gone to notice the pain, but Kagome wasn't as lucky. Losing the battle with the tears of pain and exhaustion that spilled from her eyes, she concentrated on the task at hand. Neither of them noticed when Sakura entered the room with the pills she'd been sent for. After what seemed and eternity to all of them Kagome let her hand down and was swallowed by the flames, purifying the miasma from her system.

Naruto shot up to catch her when she swayed dangerously on her feet while Hiashi hurried to the bedside, only to find Hinata's skin clear once again. Sakura handed her a single pill.

"This should keep you going for a few hours, but you'll be extremely weakened once the effects wear out" she told the miko, her face serious. "Do you think you'll be able to heal everyone in that time? You'll most likely be out for a couple of days after that."

Kagome took the pill from her and swallowed it, instantly feeling her stamina boost to a whole new level. She let go of Naruto's arm as she tested her stability, then locked eyes with the pink haired kunoichi.

"I can do it" she told her with a nod. "Lead the way."

They were about to leave the room when a strong hand gripped Kagome's shoulder firmly. She turned around to face the intense white eyes of the man she supposed was the girl's father.

"The Hyuuga clan is indebted to you, miko-sama" he spoke formally, bowing his head slightly. "If there is anything you need, we'll fulfil your request to the best of our abilities."

Kagome smiled at him, bowing her head as well. _'Well, this is better; at least he isn't pulling a Spanish Inquisition on me.'_

"There's no need for that. It is my duty to help others, and I am pleased that she is well" she said before bowing once again and following Sakura out of the room and to the next one. She had a long day ahead of her.

* * *

Kagome woke up feeling as if she'd been run over by a truck. Every one of her limbs felt stiff, and she groaned while struggling to sit up, without even bothering to open her eyes to the dim light of the room.

"Kakashi! Come here, she's waking up!" spoke a female voice that she didn't recognize. She then heard the thump of a book being closed and soft steps nearing her bed.

She slowly opened her eyes to find a pair of crimson orbs and a single grey one staring intently back at her. She tried to speak, but only a raspy sound made its way out of her lips.

"Wa… water, p… pl… please" she managed to say, wincing in pain because of her dry throat.

"Oh, right" said the woman with the red eyes, immediately returning with a glass of water she had retrieved from the nightstand. "I'm going to find a nurse to go fetch Tsunade, be right back" she told Kakashi before exiting the room.

"How are you feeling?" asked the masked jounin when she finished drinking. "You've been out for two days and a half" he smirked behind his mask "You know, that's pretty good for someone who's not a shinobi."

"I'm well, I heal fast" she replied "Though I'll admit that I've seen better times. How's everyone else?" she inquired, worried that she hadn't been able to finish her task on time.

"All of them have recuperated from the poison, though some are still nursing their wounds. You actually managed to heal everyone before you passed out, even if Sakura had to carry you from one patient to another in the end" he chuckled lightly. "The one who just left is Kurenai. You saved both her and her unborn child and she's been waiting for you to wake up so she could thank you personally for what you've done. Actually, I… I wanted to thank you too, not only for healing me, but everyone else too" he confessed uneasily.

Kagome gave him a tired smile, noticing how hard it was for him to say that. She figured that he wasn't used to thanking anyone for anything, at least anything that wasn't casual.

"You're welcome, but there's no need. I'm just glad that I could be of help" her smile turned somewhat mischievous "That and the fact that you're not interrogating me anymore" she joked.

Kakashi's expression turned sheepish as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, about that…" he trailed of at Kagome's disbelieving face "Tsunade-sama will probably be interrogating you about what you know of this miasma thing and the… youkai, was it?"

"Oh, for Heaven's…" she moaned, slumping back against her pillow. "Okay, whatever, I just don't have the strength to argue right now"

Kakashi's deep chuckle echoed through the room once again.

"Don't worry, I don't really think she believes you to be a threat anymore, but you must understand that it's her job to keep the village safe" he gave her a happy eye crease "And, honestly, the hordes of monsters surrounding the village outside the barrier you placed are making most of the people freak out" he told her.

Kagome shot up in an instant, only to have a wave of dizziness force her to lay back down once again. Kakashi observed her with curiosity.

"I had completely forgotten about that!" she groaned "How long has it been since I placed the barrier?"

"Hmm… about three days and a half" he told her, touching his chin thoughtfully. He'd been worried about how long it would last standing, but if the relief reflecting on her features was anything to go by, he didn't have to be concerned.

That's good, we have at least three days to go before it fades away, then" she said, happily snuggling back into her pillow. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

He grinned at her antics, deciding to tease her a bit. He had to keep her up until the Hokage arrived, after all. He reached out to grab her pillow, trying to steal it with a tug.

"You've just slept for two days and a half straight, what are you, a priestess or a marmot?" he asked.

Kagome held onto her pillow with a death grip, sending a killer glare to the amused jounin.

"Very funny, mister. Pick on poor old Kagome while she can't defend herself" she complained, still clutching the pillow with all her might. "See if I don't put subjugation beads on you once I am out of here" she mumbled, sticking her tongue out to him.

He was about to ask what she was talking about when Kurenai came back with a small tray of food.

"Hatake Kakashi, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked angrily when she saw the scene taking place in front of her.

'_Dam__n, busted. Well, at least Kurenai should keep her awake long enough for Tsunade to arrive.'_ he thought, still wondering what subjugation beads were. It sounded kind of kinky to him.

Kagome retrieved her pillow and snuggled into it happily once again as the red eyes kunoichi made her way to her bed.

"Hello, my name's Yuuhi Kurenai, I'm very pleased to meet you" she said with a sweet smile, while placing the tray of food in front of the miko.

"I'm pleased to meet you as well, my name's Higurashi Kagome" the miko said with a smile of her own, sitting up once again to eat her food. She hadn't realized till then how truly hungry she was.

Both Kakashi and Kurenai watched silently as Kagome dug into the bland hospital meal eagerly, finishing it in less than ten minutes. The miko then laid back, a satisfied smile on her lips. Kurenai took the opportunity to speak.

"Higurashi-san, I wanted to thank you for what you've done" she said "Not only have you saved my life, but that of my unborn son as well. You see, his father died some months ago on a mission and he's all I have left of him. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you" she said, bowing deeply.

Unshed tears shone in the pregnant kunoichi's eyes as she said that, and Kagome felt more grateful than ever for the powers that had allowed her to save those lives. It was in moments like that when that all the pain and loss made sense, they gave her life purpose.

"As far as I'm concerned" she said, "after the water and the food you've given me we're even, so no need to thank me. Also, just plain Kagome is okay, no need for the honorific."

The older woman was a bit taken aback.

"But… I saw you healing some of the others. It was obvious that you were in pain each time you took the poison out of someone else" she said.

When Kagome looked at her to respond to that the expression on her face was that of a war hardened warrior's, resigned yet proud.

"Sometimes it is necessary to make sacrifices to get something you want, or to protect something precious, as you well know. A long time ago a wise general said _'What good is power if you have nothing to protect'_. I find those words extremely inspiring" she answered, a crooked, nostalgic smile curving her lips in reminiscence. Those had been happy times for her. Hard, certainly, but happy nonetheless.

Both shinobi watched her strangely.

"And yet you didn't know any of us before you came to our aid" Kakashi said. "How does that apply to your philosophy?"

Kagome shook her head. They just didn't understand that this was her nature.

"To me, every life is precious, and as far as I'm concerned everyone deserves a chance to live. What they do with that chance, however, is their own business" she explained. "I know that it is in the nature of humans to fight each other, and that I'll never be able to stop that. I also realize that there are evil individuals who bring their own demise onto themselves, and I've been the one to deliver such death on occasion, but I never could stand and watch mindless suffering and slaughter without doing a thing to prevent it. That's why I came to your aid. I'm a priestess, it's my job" she finished on a brighter note, hoping that she'd managed to explain herself.

The two jounin exchanged a look of mild confusion. Being essentially neutral on their missions, the miko's reasoning sounded quite alien to them. However, they didn't have the chance to question it any further because in that moment the door swung open to reveal the blond Hokage and her assistant.

"Kagome-san, I see you've woken up. I hope these two haven't been bothering you too much" she said as a greeting, biting back a laugh at the jounins' offended faces. Sometimes they were too easy to tease.

Kagome laughed. "No, of course not! Well, except for someone trying to steal my pillow from me" she added, mock glaring at a certain silver haired shinobi who seemed to be finding the ceiling extremely fascinating.

Tsunade raised an amused eyebrow, but didn't comment. Instead she went into full medic mode. After checking Kagome's pulse and blood pressure she asked her if she was feeling dizzy or sick. At her negative response she moved onto the next thing on her agenda.

"Kagome-san, I'd like to ask you a few questions about that dark poisonous mist and those creatures you call youkai, which by the way are still trying to break through the barrier. I need to know that the village is safe" she said, straight to the fact.

Kagome nodded, having expected this after Kakashi's warning. However, she wasn't about to tell the story of her life to a complete stranger.

"Please, call me Kagome, and don't worry about the youkai. The barrier should be standing for at least three more days, but tomorrow morning I'll go purify their sorry asses to hell so that you're able to leave the village at your leisure" she told her. "About the miasma and the youkai, I'll tell you what I know, but how I know it is a personal matter which I want to remain private. It won't affect you, anyway."

Tsunade nodded, gesturing for the rest of the occupants of the room to leave. They owed her that much at least. When they were alone she sat on a chair next to the miko's bed and took out a bottle of sake and two cups she'd managed to hide from Shizune.

"So, tell me…"

* * *

Next morning Tsunade was found walking through the hospital halls to Kagome's room while chatting with her assistant.

"… and she told me that she'd been friends with some youkai that apparently were able to take humanoid form, but she wouldn't tell me where or when, or their names for that matter." _'And that was after she'd drunk half a bottle of my strongest sake'_ she thought to herself. "Honestly, I don't think she's lying, and her powers only seem to verify her story" she told Shizune.

The black haired assistant sighed. "I don't think she's lying either, it's just too farfetched a story. Besides, if she wanted us dead she could just have let the miasma do the deed" she said as they reached the right door.

Tsunade was going to agree when Kagome's voice cut her short.

"But I don't want to be a bother!" Kagome pleaded.

"Nonsense!" responded Kurenai's voice from the other side of the door. "You're not going to be staying at some crappy inn when there is a perfectly good unoccupied bed in my house. And that's final!"

The two women turned to watch the newcomers when the door opened. At the blonde Hokage's amused expression Kagome sighed in defeat. She knew a lost battle when she saw one.

"Fine, I'll stay with you. But I'll be helping with the chores to make it up for you, and don't even bother to argue" she threatened.

"Fine, we have a deal" said the red eyed kunoichi, taking Kagome's extended hand.

"Wonderful, and now if you're done, I believe Kagome's got some youkai asses to kick" said Tsunade, handing the miko three quivers full of arrows. "Will that be enough?" she asked.

"Yep, think so!" Kagome said happily, as she slung the quivers along with her trusty bow across her shoulder. "Let's go!"

* * *

Several hours and two and a half quivers later Kagome was taking a stroll through Konoha's small park whistling a happy tune from her home. She had taken her time with the youkai not to overexert herself. She'd been sleeping far too much for her taste those last days. A few shinobi had been watching her, some of which she recognized from the hospital, but none really talked to her. Well, one had actually talked to her, but she'd rather not think about it. The rest had stayed at the walls while she walked the perimeter of the barrier shooting every once in a while. They youkai were so engrossed with their goal that hadn't even moved aside from her arrows. She wondered who could have sent them.

Lost in her musings, she didn't notice the green blur coming her way until she heard a loud, heartfelt cry.

"MY BEAUTIFUL FLOWER OF YOUTH!"

Eyes widening in alarm, she watched a man in a hideous green spandex sporting an equally hideous bowl haircut and a too shiny smile. Calculating she had just enough time to flee, she jerked to the right, behind a tree with low branches that she should be able to climb quickly enough.

However, she hadn't taken into account the lazy copy nin that was reading under its shade. She tripped on his legs and fell forward, bracing herself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, she found a pair of strong, toned arms holding her waist. She felt herself being pulled back and opened her eyes at the same time that Kakashi put her back on her feet, turning her so that she was facing him. Her heart was beating madly at the closeness to him, his firm chest brushing the tips of her breasts. However, that was not the time to think such things.

Grasping Kakashi's vest, she turned them around so that his body blocked her from view from the way the Green Terror was coming.

"Hide me, hide me, hide me please!" she begged. The first time he'd come to talk to her, when she'd left Kurenai's house after finishing off the youkai, it had taken nearly two hours to get away from him. She didn't think she could endure that again.

Kakashi gave an amused chuckle and in an instant poofed to the treetop and then back, leaving Kagome up. She sighed in relief as she made herself comfortable on the thick branch.

By the time Gai arrived Kakashi was back to his book.

"My most esteemed friend and eternal rival! Have you by chance seen a woman whose wondrous spirit of youth shines with a purple fire?" he asked.

Kakashi refrained from laughing with great effort.

"Ah, she's a woman like no other, my friend! You should have seen her when she healed my Lee, or as she delivered her divine justice to those who sought our demise!" Gai went on, oblivious to Kakashi's amusement.

'_Ah, so that's how he knows her. I kinda pity her, maybe I shouldn't… no, too funny to pass up. Besides, payback's a bitch' _the silver haired jounin thought.

"I've heard that she used her youthful fires to heal you, my friend. Yet another time that you get ahead of me, but my youthful spirit will be the winner this time!" the spandex clad shinobi continued.

'_Wha… winner? Who said I'm playing?'_ Kakashi's thoughts interrupted.

"I know not even you could ignore such a radiant beauty, the very soul of the spring of youth, but I will not be defeated! I'll run five hundred laps around the village on my bare hands if I do!"

'_Okay, I think I'm going to be sick, that's enough'_ Kakashi thought.

"Actually," he interrupted, this time out loud "I think she's trying her hand at climbing trees" he told the other shinobi, pointing upwards to where Kagome was hiding. "But I'm afraid she got stuck and can't come down."

Kagome nearly fell from her branch. _'Kakashi, you slimy traitor! I'm going to kill you, you bastard!'_ she promised in her mind even as Gai appeared next to her and carried her down from the tree.

"My beautiful spring blossom, you needed only ask if you wanted to train to strengthen your youthful spirit! I'll be more than happy to feed the flames of…" he trailed off, dragging Kagome to the training grounds as she gave Kakashi the most venomous glare she could muster. He just gave her a happy eye crease and a small wave before returning his attention to his orange book.


	3. Into the storm

_**So sorry for the delay! I've been out of town and now I'm having exams, so please bear with me a little okay?**_

_**I still can't get over how wonderful you guys are, I got so many reviews I couldn't believe it! Thank you so much!**_

**3.- ****Into the storm**

_**We are following the will of the One**_

_**Through the Dark Age and into the storm**_

"I fuckin'... swear... to Kami. The damn… moment… I get my hands on him…" Kagome muttered, still trying to regain her breath. She had just gotten to Kurenai's house and was sprawled on the sofa while she tried to explain to the pregnant woman why she was covered in dirt and scratches from head to toe and barely able to stand on her feet.

"That man…" Kurenai sighed, shaking her head. What in the world had possessed him to do such a thing? Honestly… This Kagome woman seemed to have quite the temper when provoked. Kurenai had the distinct feeling that Kakashi was digging his own grave.

Kagome still rambled on.

"And then that Green Terror dragged me all the way to what he called training grounds and had me climbing trees for **five fucking hours**! Five!" she growled "And he wouldn't stop talking my ears off with that youth obsession of his."

"Whoa, that sure sounds like Gai. How did you get away?" asked Kurenai.

"I didn't. He said he'd come search for me tomorrow so I could hone my 'youthful spirit' some more." she let out a defeated sigh, hanging her head. And she thought murderous youkai were bad… at least those she could purify!

Kurenai laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll send him away when he comes tomorrow. Though I should tell you, he's not the kind of guy to give up easily" she warned.

"Ugh, why doesn't it surprise me?" Kagome groaned. "But you have yet to hear the worst of it. He told me that when I was able to climb a tree without using my hands, though I have no idea about how on earth I'd manage that, he'd take me on a romantic dinner to celebrate the triumph of youth and let our spirits grow together."

Kurenai chocked on her tea.

"He **what?!**" she sputtered "Gai asked you on a date?!"

"Yeah, something like that." Kagome grimaced "Not that I'll ever be able to climb the damn tree without growing claws on my feet or something. But I don't feel like going through what I just went today ever again."

Kurenai was watching the younger woman with a mix of pity and awe. Gai had never asked any other woman on a date from what she knew. Hell, she had even thought that he swung the other way! However, she felt bad for the priestess in front of her, who had done nothing to deserve the spandex clad shinobi's 'attentions'.

'_Huh? Wait a moment, she's a priestess!'_

"Ano, Kagome-san? But with you being a priestess… I mean, you're not allowed to be with any man, are you?" she asked "That should solve the problem."

Kagome let out a small giggle at her comment. She hadn't even thought about it, but it made sense. When she had become a priestess she hadn't made any vows or promises. It had just been a natural thing, the power had flowed through her veins, marking her as a born miko, and that was it. But in this time, in this place so different from her home, it wasn't the power that marked the miko, for as far as she knew there were no born priestesses to speak of. That made sense, since she hadn't found any youkai till recently. Instead, being a miko consisted of rituals and vows, much like Naruto had pointed out, and not of protecting and healing the humans as it was in the past.

"I have made no vow in such a way, Kurenai-san" she told her "Though I see your point. I never chose to become a priestess, I was born with the power, and decided to use it to protect those around me, but that was about it."

Kurenai raised a surprised brow.

"Uhh… okay, then" she said "You could always tell him that you took the vows and be done with it, though."

Kagome shook her head, her raven locks swaying gently around her dirt covered face.

"I'd rather not lie. Besides, I don't think that'd deter him from trying to make me climb the damn trees, so there's no point really."

"You're right. For the time being you should just try and avoid him as much as you can. We'll figure something out along the way."

'Sigh' "Yeah, I think I'll do that… If you don't mind, though, I'll be taking a shower and getting to bed now; I'm dead on my feet." Kagome said, fighting a loosing battle to keep her eyes open.

Kurenai smiled good-naturedly.

"You do that. I'll have a late night snack, then turn in as well" she told the tired priestess. _'Hmmm, I think I have some tempura leftovers. Maybe with a little chocolate…'_

Kagome just nodded distractedly as she crawled into the bathroom, daydreaming of the bed the older woman had prepared for her.

"G'night"

"Night" the kunoichi answered, heading for the kitchen. She was dying to share this piece of juicy gossip with Anko and Shizune, and maybe Tsunade too, but she very much doubted that the young priestess would appreciate it. She had enough as it was with the overly enthusiastic taijutsu master. Maybe she could convince her to tell them herself, so that they could plot together? _'Hmm, decisions, decisions…'_

Also, she'd have to talk with Kakashi. Honestly, what was he thinking? It was very out of character for him to bother messing with people he barely knew. It seemed that she was in for an interesting day next morning.

* * *

Kagome felt like she had barely closed her eyes when she felt an insistent hand poking her on the shoulder. Groaning sleepily, she tried to swat it away and go back to blissful oblivion. Unfortunately for her, the owner of said hand was having none of that.

"Kagome-san, you've got to wake up" she heard.

"Too early… five more minutes…" she muttered, burying her head under the pillow to prevent the sunlight coming form the window from waking her fully.

Kurenai's thin brow shot up in amusement.

"Oh, it's alright, then. I'll just tell Gai you'll be in the training grounds in half an hour for another lesson on tree climbing." She made a pause, as if thinking about something "Though I'm sure that now that he has had more time to prepare he's scheduled for a whole day of exercise…"

"Say WHAT!?" Kagome shot out of bed, suddenly very awake. She grimaced at the cramps from the day before, and Kurenai couldn't help but laugh a little at the poor woman's misfortune.

"Don't worry, he's still not here, but he'll find you in no time if you don't get out of bed soon" she informed the miko.

"But I thought you were going to send him away…" she whined, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

The pregnant kunoichi gave her a sheepish smile.

"I know, but I wasn't really counting on you not being a kunoichi. If you're in the house when he comes by he'll definitely be able to sense you, even from the doorstep" she explained, her ruby eyes apologetic.

Kagome sighed in resignation.

"I swear I'm going to kill that damn excuse for a man" she grouched, getting up from the bed.

"Aw, c'mon, Gai isn't that bad, that's just the way he is. He really means no harm." Kurenai defended him. Kagome arched a brow.

"I'm talking about Kakashi."

The older woman's eyes widened for a fraction of second before narrowing in mischief. Her lips curled in a conspirational grin.

"Oh, go ahead, then. He does deserve it" she agreed.

"He damn well does…" she heard Kagome mutter as she disappeared behind the bathroom door in order to get ready to flee from the spandex clad man.

* * *

A horror struck Hyuuga Hinata stared at her father through tear stained lavender eyes.

"But f-father… I can't d-do… that, I l-love him!" she managed to say without chocking on her sobs. She tried to find comfort in the figure of her cousin, who stood silent, but supportive, by her side. Surely Neji would know how to make her father see that this was a huge mistake. I would kill her to leave Naruto, now that they were finally together, after all those years of pinning after him.

"It does not matter" the Hyuuga head said, in his trademark unemotional voice. "You are once again the Heir to the Hyuuga House, and your marriage shall be a beneficial one for this clan" he stated.

He watched as the crystal tears spilled from his only remaining daughter's eyes, and he willed himself to be strong. This was not his decision, but the elders', and he had no choice but to abide by their wishes in this matter. At least he had convinced them not to choose Neji to marry her off to. He knew that his daughter loved him like a brother, and he personally abhorred the old tradition of favouring incest in the powerful clans. It was plain sick, in his opinion.

Not being able to watch his daughter any longer, he wordlessly turned around and left the room.

Hinata crumbled the moment her father closed the door, barely missing hitting the ground thanks to her cousin catching her in the last possible moment. Desperate, she threw her arms around the older shinobi's neck and started sobbing into his shoulder, her salty tears quickly soaking through his white shirt and wetting the skin beneath.

He lowered them both onto the ground and kneeled beside her, trying to sooth her in his silent manner.

'_Do not worry, Hinata-sama. Everything will be alright. I __**will**__ make sure of it.' _he vowed, angry lavender eyes narrowing at the door through which the older Hyuuga had exited the room.

* * *

Kagome walked lazily towards the tower she had been told served as the Hokage's headquarters. She had spent some time since she'd left Kurenai's house thinking about the youkai attack from a few days prior, and there was something to it she didn't really understand. If what they'd told her was true, and she was pretty sure it was, the ninjas had never heard of that kind of thing, and neither about miasma for that matter. Not even the miko and priests of the village temple. So why now, and why this particular village? Did it have anything to do with her? And above all that, who commanded the mindless youkai and created the miasma? It couldn't have been Naraku, he was long dead, the damn bastard… She had killed him herself, though with the help of her friends, of course. Her fists clenched and she gritted her teeth at the remembrance of what he had done to her…

Shivering, she forcefully cut off that train of thought. It would do her no good to wallow in self pity, as she had learned. A damn good lesson too, is she said so herself. She'd always be grateful to the old dog for it, among other things. But now she had more pressing matters to attend to, namely, a self appointed meeting with the Hokage. She hoped the blonde had spare time to talk to her.

Tsunade was blissfully sleeping away a hangover; her blond locks sprawled onto the piles of paperwork that overflowed her desk. She had discovered over the years that once they were conveniently crumbled they made for a nice pillow in which to take naps. Now, if that annoying voice would shut up…

"Tsunade-sama? Tsunade-sama, are you in there? Kagome-san is here to see you."

She identified the voice with that of her assistant, and gave up trying to get back to sleep. She had known the black haired kunoichi long enough to be sure that she'd just call her again and again until she acknowledged her. Grumpily, she walked over to the door, cradling her aching head in one hand while she slammed the door open with the other.

"Now what?!" she bellowed, wincing as it only caused the pounding in her head to worsen.

Kagome jumped a couple of feet in the air, still holding a startled Tonton in her arms, as she'd been playing with it while she waited.

"Uhh… Tsunade-sama, Kagome-san has come to talk to you; she said it's about the attack from four days ago." Shizune explained.

Tsunade grumbled something unintelligible under her breath, then motioned for the young priestess to follow her into the office. Kagome carefully placed the cute pig back on the floor before walking into the room after the blonde, shutting the door behind her. She sat on the chair the Hokage offered her as Tsunade herself collapsed onto the one in front of her.

Tsunade stared inquisitively at the young woman before her.

"So, how can I help you, Kagome?" she asked, sounding as if helping was the last thing on her mind. The other woman didn't seem to care much.

"Err, well, you see, I've been thinking about the reasons behind the youkai attack you suffered a few days ago and… well, I think there is something amiss" she blurted out. This perked up the Hokage's interest.

"What do you mean, amiss?" she asked, straightening herself in her seat before leaning slightly forward.

Kagome shook her head in confusion.

"I'm not really sure what it is, but youkai don't just gather together to attack random villages" she tried to explain "Usually, when they attack they're either defending themselves or hunting for food, but never in such large groups."

Tsunade thought this was logical, but she still didn't understand what she was getting at. She motioned for her to continue.

"The way they were behaving, working as one instead of attacking one another, makes me think that there was someone controlling them. The miasma surrounding them only proves my point further, as it wasn't created by any of them" she said.

Tsunade watched her carefully as she spoke. Sometime during her speech her eyes had unfocused, as if she'd been reminiscing of the past. It was brief, but it was there, and the kunoichi's trained eyes didn't miss it.

"Tell me Kagome, you've already seen something like this before, haven't you?" she asked, honey eyes locking onto chocolate brown orbs.

Kagome's face turned slightly grim, before she nodded.

"Yes I have. It was a long time ago, though, and it couldn't have been the same… person commanding them" she said, shaking her head in frustration. "I saw him die with my own eyes" the spite marring her words didn't go unnoticed by the older woman, leading her to think that she'd done more than just watch.

"Kagome, I respect your wish to keep as much as possible of your past private, but if this… person, as you call him, is a threat to Konoha, I need to know" she declared. Kagome quickly cut her off with another negative shaking of her head.

"No, I am positive that he died. Those of demonic blood can't survive purification, after all" she assured the Hokage. "What worries me is that, for some reason, someone is commanding lower youkai to destroy this village, and I don't know who or why."

Tsunade fell in silence, her face dead serious. They couldn't afford another attack like the previous one. If it hadn't been for the young priestess's aid, they would've been annihilated, and wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing to prevent it. Anyway, even if the miko was there, she wouldn't make the whole village depend on a woman she barely knew.

"Do you have any ideas?" she asked finally.

Kagome bit her lower lip in frustration.

"At first I thought they had come for me, sensing the purity, but I'm not so sure now" she admitted.

Tsunade nodded, understanding what she was implying.

"You weren't even close when the attacks started. If Team Kakashi hadn't come across you in the forest you would've never known a thing" she supplied, as Kagome nodded her head.

"So it follows that the main target was the village" she sighed. This wasn't good.

"That's what I thought as well, but I can't understand why. There isn't anything remotely demonic in this village, save for Naruto, and his aura is that of a hanyou. It would never interest someone powerful enough to command that many lower youkai" she ran her hand through her hair, trying to make sense of everything. They were missing something, and it irritated her. The blond Hokage wasn't much better off, either.

"I'm willing to bet that they're after the forbidden scrolls" she growled. She looked up to face the priestess, who seemed to be running through other possibilities. "Do you think that youkai would have any interest in our jutsu?" she asked.

Kagome mused over it for a while.

"It could be. I'm not really sure, but it's a possibility, and the best suggestion we have this far" she finally said.

Tsunade nodded once again, slumping back onto her chair.

"Very well, then, I'll have Sakura revise the scrolls and heighten the vigilance over the place they're in. If you think of anything else about this, please make sure you inform me right away. Don't talk to anybody about this, we don't know who might be listening" she instructed.

Kagome nodded her agreement.

"That works for me" she said as she got up form her chair. She walked to the door and was about to close it behind her when Tsunade called her once again.

"Kagome? Could you tell Sakura to come here? I'm afraid I'm running short on messengers."

Kagome agreed before closing the door, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

She was on her way out of the Hokage tower when she saw the telltale silver hair peaking out from behind a bright orange book.

"**You…**" she growled. He didn't seem to notice, so she made a grab for the book he was constantly reading. She was inches away when she found her wrist caught in an iron grip.

"Why hello, Kagome-san? How are you on this beautiful morning?" he asked, his only visible eye creasing happily.

'_The nerve of him…'_ she fumed.

"I'll tell you how I am, you traitorous bastard" she growled under her breath, not wanting to make a scene. Of course, being surrounded by ninjas, it didn't do much good. "I am scratched from head to toe, my body aches in places I didn't even know they existed, and I have a green lunatic trying to get me to climb trees, not to talk about dating him when I manage to do it" her voice grew louder with every word. "How the fuck do you think I am?!" she ended her tirade, her face so close to his that their noses were nearly touching. Several shinobi were openly staring at them by now, while the rest of them watched more discreetly. Several of them sported amused smiles on their faces.

"Maa, maa, Kagome-san. I though you'd like to learn how to climb trees on you own, so you wouldn't need my assistance in the future" he said innocently, not moving one inch, so as to let her know that he wasn't in the least bit intimidated.

Kagome didn't buy his act.

"And you thought that the best option was to have the Green Terror I was running from teach me, huh!? You're a dead man, Kakashi!" she told him, yanking her wrist free from his grasp as she stared at him in the eye for emphasis.

"Well, aren't we all going to die anyway?" he said dramatically at last, focusing his gaze on the book once again and starting to walk away. He hadn't walked two steps before he heard Kagome's muttered reply.

"Maybe, but not so soon."

The tone in which she had said it sent an uncomfortable chill down Kakashi's spine. Maybe he shouldn't have messed with the strange woman? _'Naw, it was damn funny. Besides, what could she do to me, anyway?' _With that comforting thought he walked on to the Hokage's office.

* * *

Kagome wandered around the Leaf village for a while, trying to find the pink haired kunoichi, but to no avail. Where the hell had she gone? She'd asked a few people, and they suggested that she looked for her at the hospital, or the training grounds. After that hadn't worked, she'd been sent to her house and even to a ramen stand called Ichiraku's. No luck.

She was about to call quits when she spotted a figure clad in green spandex with an awfully familiar bowl haircut. She 'eeped' in alarm and turned around, ready to flee as fast and as far away as she could. Too late.

"Kagome-sama!" she heard a voice call her. To her immense relief, it wasn't the one of her overly amorous admirer. _'Thank heavens! It's just Mini-me.'_ She turned and gave him a sincere smile, still grateful that she'd been spared this time.

"Hello, Lee-kun" she greeted. "How are you feeling?" she enquired. He'd been one of the last she'd healed before passing out, and she wasn't completely sure that she'd gotten rid of all the miasma properly, given the condition she was in.

He stopped and gave her a thumbs-up, grinning in a way that was entirely too similar to that of his sensei's, much to Kagome's displeasure. She cringed inwardly, but somehow managed to avoid it showing on her face.

"Your blossoming spirit managed to give me back the power of youth, so I was able to even train this morning!" he beamed. Kagome felt her skin crawl. _'Yep, entirely too alike, alright.'_

"I'm glad to hear that, Lee-kun" she told him, actually meaning it. It wasn't the poor boy's fault, after all. "So, there was anything you needed?" she asked.

Lee dropped the poise, and his shoulders seemed to slump a little.

"I'm looking for my lovely cherry blossom, but she doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight" he told her.

Kagome looked at him uncertainly.

"Cherry blossom… you mean Sakura?" she enquired.

He nodded.

"I've been looking for her for a while now, but I can't seem to find her" he suddenly straightened and closed his fist in determination. "But if I can't find her within the next thirty minutes, I vow to do two thousand push-ups on a single finger as a punishment!" he declared, his eyes glinting.

"Oh," she said, trying to erase a similar declaration made by his sensei the day before "I've been looking for her as well. If you find her, could you tell her that the Hokage wants to see her?" she asked him.

He blinked a couple of times, then he beamed again before agreeing enthusiastically.

Kagome smiled.

"Good then, I'll see you around, Lee-kun" she called, as he hurried down the street.

"Geez, he sure is energetic" she mused out loud, as she lost sight of him. She began walking away when a voice called from some nearby bushes.

"Is he gone?" Sakura asked, hesitantly poking her head out of the plant, some of the greenery getting stuck to her short pink locks.

Kagome stared in surprise.

"You were there the whole time?"

Sakura nodded, running her hand through her hair to get the leaves out and then patting her clothes.

"He's too damn persistent" she grumbled. "Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and all, but I wish she would stop following me around. I kinda understand now why Sasuke ran away every time he spotted Ino or me."

Kagome nodded sympathetically.

"Don't worry, I understand a bit too well for my tastes" she sighed.

Sakura eyed her in surprise.

"So, it's true? I heard that Gai-sensei had you climbing trees for the most part of yesterday's afternoon and well into the evening."

It was Kagome who looked surprised now.

"How did you know that?"

"Oh, get used to it" Sakura replied, waving her hand dismissively "Gossip is the number one national sport in here, and being surrounded by ninjas makes it kind of difficult to keep anything a secret for long."

Kagome grimaced. Just her luck. Sakura noticed, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, though, we all know how Gai-sensei feels about training. Just try and stay out of his grasp for a while, then he'll focus back on his own team to torture."

Kagome let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. So they didn't know that he was more interested than just in training her. All the better, the last thing she wanted was for them to encourage him, just like that silver haired bastard. _'Just wait till I get my hands on him.'_

She was broken out of her reverie when Sakura spoke again.

"Okay, I'm leaving for shishou's office now. You said she wanted to see me, right?"

"Yes, I talked to her about something and she wants you to do some research. She'll tell you herself, I think. She asked me not to talk about it" she answered.

Sakura nodded in understanding.

"Okay. See you later, then" she told her "Maybe you could come and have lunch with me and the boys? Naruto's been asking about you since the day of the battle, and I think even Sasuke would like to see you."

"Oh, okay, I guess" Kagome answered, not wanting to be rude, but also praying that she wouldn't have to spend time with the masked jounin. At least not while having to be civil to him.

"At noon at the Ichiraku's, then. Ask anyone if you don't know where it is, it's pretty easy to find" she called back as she headed to the Hokage's tower.

Kagome merely nodded and waved as she headed for Kurenai's house. As things were, it was the safest place to hide from the Green Terror and plot Kakashi's demise.

Tsunade grumbled when someone knocked on her office door for the second time that morning.

"Come in!" she called.

* * *

The masked face of Konoha's copy-nin was the first thing she saw, nose stuck as always in one of his dirty orange books. Without even thinking, she hurled her stone paperweight at his head. He caught it without even looking away from his reading.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama" he greeted, finally closing the book. He stared at the heavy object she'd thrown at him. "I take it you're not too glad to see me?"

Tsunade responded without missing a beat, her honey eyes angry and bloodshot from the hangover.

"You're two hours late, Hatake" she spat at him. Not that it was anything unusual, but she wasn't going to just let it slide every time he did it.

"Well, you see, there was this old lady whose cat had gotten lost…"

"Cut the crap, Hatake, you don't even bother to make up new excuses anymore" she bit back. "Now listen, I've got a new mission for you" she stated.

This got his attention.

"Which rank?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow at his change in behaviour, but didn't comment.

"Unranked, for the moment at least" she answered. This got his attention even more, leading him to tuck the book he still had in his hand into his pouch. The Hokage went on.

"I want you to keep watch on Higurashi Kagome" she declared.

Kakashi's visible eye widened incredibly. Not that he hadn't expected her to be watched, he just hadn't expected to be him the one to do the job.

"Err, Hokage-sama, maybe it would be better if you left that to someone else" he argued "She already knows me, and will surely notice me spying on her. Maybe a face she doesn't recognize…"

Tsunade negated with her head.

"No, that's exactly why I chose you. She already knows you, so you can spend time with her without her suspecting. The other members of your team are too young, but it would be more common if you made friends with her" she went on "Not that I really think that she'd harm the village, but I don't want to risk anything."

"But…" he tried to object.

"But nothing, Hatake" she cut him off. "I need you to do this mission, and I don't want excuses."

He hung his head, defeated. _'Shit, I'm dead.'_

_**There you have it, the third chapter. Let me know what you think, please!**_


	4. For the sake of revenge

_**So sorry for the tardiness of this chapter! It was meant to come out a lot sooner, but my school life has been hell lately and I haven't had any time to write. As always, my humblest thanks to all of you who read this story, and specially those who reviewed.**_

_**Also I messed up while updating, so it appeared like I had updated the third chapter when it was the first one with small modifications. All the previous have had added a piece of the lyrics from which the take their name.**_

_**Without further ado, here you have the fourth instalment. Enjoy!**_

**4.-**** For the sake of revenge**

_**For the sake of revenge you will command me  
This ain't over, it's never over  
'till the fat lady sings, you love me**_

_Kagome was panting heavily, her breath making white puffs of __condensation in the freezing air every time it left her broken lips. It was so dark she couldn't see the tip of her nose, the only sound reaching her ears being the slow drip of water somewhere in the room. She ran her dry tongue over her cracked lips, tasting the blood that had long ago stopped flowing from them. How long had she been here? A week? A month? She wouldn't be able to tell. Tired, weakly, she tried once again to yank free from the chains that shackled her to the wall. To no avail. She only managed to reopen the wounds on her wrists from her previous attempts at freedom. She started cursing under her breath, but immediately fell into silence when she heard the screech of the rusty hinges of the cell door. _

_Slowly, she raised her head to look at her visitor, glaring at the crimson eyed half demon who stepped into the cell. He merely smirked at her, slowly making his way to where she was chained to the wall._

"_Why, hello, Kagome-chan" he greeted, his sickly sweet voice making the miko's skin crawl. "I trust the accommodations are to your complete satisfaction?" he mocked._

_Kagome didn't bother to grace him with a response. It'd only make everything worse. Instead, she just kept glaring at him defiantly, wishing with all her might that he'd just burst into flames and leave her alone._

"_Tsk, tsk, such a spirit…" he said, getting close enough to hold her chin with one of his tentacles. She tried to bite it off, but he dodged her teeth with ease. "And such defiance. It's a pity you wouldn't consider joining me in my quest, Kagome-chan" he purred next to her ear._

_Kagome felt goose bumps rise on her skin at his proximity, a shiver of repulsion travelling down her numb back. She jerked as far from him as the chains let her, but he merely leant back. Placing his finger on his lower lip, he went on with his one sided conversation._

"_You see, Kagome-chan, I've been thinking about what I could do with you, and it's been giving me quite the dilemma" he paused to look at her, a malevolent smile playing on his lips. "When you refused to aid me in my endeavour, I resolved to just kill you to get you out of my way. But somehow, after all the trouble you and your pathetic friends have been giving me throughout the years it seemed like the easy way out for you, don't you agree, my dear?" he kept pacing in front of her, just out of her reach._

"_Bastard…" Kagome muttered, but kept a wary eye on him. What was he planning?_

_Naraku merely ignored her, instead continuing with his rambling._

"_So, instead I thought that I could keep you here, letting you wither away and die in a long, long agony" he went on. "However, if your so called friends tried to rescue you it could prove to be hazardous too, now, wouldn't it? I couldn't possibly let you go when your powers as a priestess are the only thing that could pose a threat to my plans, so I finally came to the solution for this… situation. It was so painfully obvious that I couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to me earlier" he gloated. He paused in his pacing to stare at the shackled miko in the eye. "Your powers, miko. The threat to my person were your powers, your purity powers, not yourself" he announced, as if he had just made the greatest discovery ever. "So the only thing I needed to do was strip you of that purity, do you understand, Kagome-chan?"_

_He was dangerously close now, and Kagome could smell his putrid breath. This time she visibly shivered in realization of what he intended to do to her._

"_You sick bastard…" she managed to croak through her dry throat. She jerked at the chains again, this time in desperation. She had to get away, now! This time there would be no Inuyasha bursting in at the last possible moment to save her sorry ass. She pulled on the chains, trying to keep as far away from him as possible. She wouldn't let him do this! Dammit, she _couldn't _let him do this to her! She felt one of his slimy tentacles sliding up one of her long, bare legs and held back the urge to gag._

"_Now, now, Kagome-chan… why so unwilling? I'll make sure you enjoy this" he cooed, wrapping another of his appendages around her waist. "I'll be sure to make you cry out" he whispered darkly in her ear. To her increasing horror, she felt another tentacle slipping past the waistline of her ruined skirt and underwear._

"_No, please, no, NO!"_

"Kagome-san! Kagome-san, wake up!"

Kagome opened her eyes to a pair of crimson orbs staring down at her.

"Ahh! Get off me, you bastard!" she screamed, instinctively giving out a burst of power that failed to push back her supposed attacker. Scared out of her wits, she tried to back away only to feel her back hit the wall behind her. She started to squirm to get away from the hands holding her arms when the voice belonging to those red eyes made its way to her hazy brain. It was… feminine?

"Kagome-san, calm down, it's me, Kurenai" the older woman said.

The miko finally stopped moving and slumped onto her bed, her breathing agitated and drenched in cold sweat. If only she could get rid of those nightmares… She had promised herself that she wouldn't think about that anymore, but dammit, she couldn't control her dreams! Trying to calm herself, she looked up at the concerned woman hovering above her.

"Are you okay?" Kurenai asked the scared raven haired woman. "You were screaming in your sleep."

"Yes… I think. It was just a nightmare" Kagome answered, trying to downplay it. She wasn't really ready to tell her host about it yet, anyway. She gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile, that in reality didn't come out all that well.

Kurenai looked unconvinced, but let it slide. She would tell her when she was ready, the kunoichi supposed. Instead, she placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling comfortingly.

"C'mon, I'll make some tea. It's already dawn, after all" she said, getting up from the bed and swaying clumsily towards the kitchen. She was in the last stages of her pregnancy, and her large belly impaired her greatly, but she refused to just stay put in bed till her baby came, much to the miko's dismay.

"Kurenai-san, you shouldn't be walking around in your state!" Kagome said, jumping up from her bed and following the pregnant woman to the kitchen.

"Tsk, you should know better by now, Kagome-san. What's it been, two months already? You should know that I'm not going to just sit around all day" with that she turned and started digging through her cupboards in search of a kettle.

* * *

Later that morning Kagome was enjoying a peaceful time in one of the public hot springs with Tsunade, Shizune, Anko and Kurenai. Giving a sigh of contentment, she allowed her stiff muscles to relax, sinking further into the warm water.

"So, Kagome, I heard Hatake still hasn't managed to get rid of your little 'present'" Anko snickered, taking a sadistic pleasure in the mental picture of the silver haired jounin's face smashed to the ground. "Care to share your secret with us? I'm sure I could find a couple more uses for those necklaces of yours…" she trailed off.

The rest of the present females laughed out loud. Word had gotten out some time ago of what had transpired between Kagome and the green clad shinobi, as well as the part Kakashi had had in it and the way the miko had gotten back at him.

"Sorry, Anko, you need to be a miko to make them" she inwardly shuddered at the though of what the sadistic woman would use the subjugation beads for. She didn't need that kind of mental images.

"So when are you planning to get it off him?" Tsunade asked. She was now more relaxed with the raven haired priestess, and didn't really think that she'd be a threat for the village. There had been a few youkai attacks during the last two months, but she'd dealt with them without much of a hassle. Much to her disappointment, though, they still hadn't figured out who was sending them or why, so she'd had to cut short most of the missions outside the Land of Fire. However, she still had Kakashi keep an eye on Kagome, just in case. Besides, it was very amusing watching the jounin's predicament.

The miko snorted indignantly. After all, he'd brought it upon himself.

"He knows the deal. I'll get it off him when he gets Gai off me" she answered. It had really been a stroke of genius putting the necklace on Kakashi just when Gai was sprouting his usual nonsense about youth. Now each time the spandex clad shinobi said his favourite word, Kakashi would plunge face first into the ground. It served him well, the bastard. If she had to suffer from Gai's attentions, he'd have to suffer along. For some reason, he'd taken to tag along with her at times. She was sure that it was just in order to irritate her with his perverted book.

Shizune giggled. It was Konoha's hottest gossip that the young priestess and Hatake had a thing going on. Though she knew better, she couldn't help but wish for a bit of romance. She was a sucker for fluff, after all. Besides, Kami knew that the hardened jounin could use some happiness, and the newest addition to their village seemed like the perfect candidate.

"Ah, but I saw how he took you away the other day, when Gai was looking for you. Swept you into his arms and jumped away, didn't he?" she asked teasingly.

Kurenai quickly caught up with her.

"Aww, isn't that romantic? I think we have a love story blossoming right here, don't you?" she asked, grinning at Kagome like a Chesire cat.

Kagome blushed to the roots of her hair, sputtering incoherently as Tsunade laughed heartily and Anko made gagging faces. Shizune and Kurenai soon joined the laughter. The young miko just pouted, crossing her arms in mock anger.

"That's right, gang up on me, see if I care" she said, getting out of the water. "Anyway, I need to get going, I'll see you later!" she waved after wrapping a towel around her body.

Just as she was about to leave, she sensed a very well hidden presence behind the wooden wall closest to her. Eyebrow twitching in rising rage, she gestured to the kunoichi towards said wall. Tsunade made a confused face, then concentrated… and felt an all too familiar chakra behind the wall.

The Godaime got up without saying a word and walked straight to the offending wall… before demolishing it with a single punch.

There stood, crouched and coughing, one of the legendary sannin.

"E-he-he. Why, hello there, Tsunade-hime! Have I told you how utterly gorgeous you're looking this mor-?" he didn't get to say anything else, as he was punched into oblivion by a very pissed Hokage clad only in a skimpy towel.

"Damn that idiot… I think I need a drink" with that she left, Shizune hurrying after her. Kurenai and Anko also got out and covered themselves quickly, before heading to the changing rooms.

Kagome sighed, momentarily seeing the face of another, very different looking pervert in the unconscious, sprawled form that laid on the ground in front of her. With a sad shake of the head, she followed the other women out of the bath house.

* * *

"Kagome-chan!! Over here!!"

The distinct voice of the blond haired jinchuuriki caught her attention as she walked down the streets of Konoha, without a particular course in mind. She waved back at him as she made her way to the stool next to him at the Ichiraku's, where he was having his daily bowls of ramen. She smiled fondly as it reminded her of a certain hanyou's noodle obsession.

"Hello, Naruto" she greeted the hyper teen. "How's everything?"

He slurped a few more of his noodles before setting the chopsticks down on the counter.

"It's okay, Tsunade-baa won't let me go on any interesting missions because of the youkai and everything, so I'm bored, but that means that I can eat more ramen here at the Ichiraku's so that's okay" he answered, without even taking a breath. Then his face darkened a bit. "But if I'm here how am I supposed to get strong enough to become Hokage?" he protested.

Kagome laughed a bit. After spending two months in Konoha she was well aware that it was the blonde's dream to become Hokage and be recognized by everyone. It sounded good enough to her; at least he didn't want the position for the power it would bring him.

"That's okay, you're still young, you have a long time to become stronger" she tried to reassure him. To her surprise, he shook his head.

"No, I don't, Kagome-chan" he answered, sounding sad and defeated. At her inquisitive gaze, he elaborated. "Hinata-chan told me a few weeks ago that now that her sister was dead she'd been reinstated as the heir of the clan, and will have to marry for political purposes" he snorted. "And somehow those old farts of the Hyuuga council don't see me as the best match" he slammed his fist on the counter, making all the bowls he had piled beside him teeter dangerously. "That's why I have to become Hokage within the next year, so that I can be with Hinata-chan. Those assholes won't be able to say anything if I am the Hokage."

Kagome smiled sympathetically. She had seen her fair share of these situations in all the years she spent in the feudal era. She knew that arranged marriages hardly made for a happy couple, and couldn't help but feel bad for the blond and the sweet, dark haired girl.

"Don't worry, Naruto, I'm sure everything will come out well in the end, you'll see" she told him, already formulating a plan in her head. She knew this was a private affair and that he shouldn't meddle, but she hated seeing the hyper blond so down. And after all, Hinata's father said he owed her a favour, didn't he? Surely there was something she could do to help.

"I am afraid that probably won't be the case" said a new, cold voice from behind her.

She turned around to be faced with two pairs of pale, lavender eyes. She immediately recognized Hinata as the girl she had healed when she first arrived at the village, but she couldn't recall ever seeing the young man that stood beside her. Naruto quickly greeted them and gestured for them to sit as well. Hinata quickly went to his side, and he embraced her and kissed her gently on the forehead. The shinobi that came with her sat on the stool next to Kagome with a sigh. Seeing that the other two were too engrossed with each other, the priestess tried to strike conversation with him.

"Hello, my name is Higurashi Kagome" she introduced herself with a smile.

"Hyuuga Neji. It's a pleasure" he answered, politely inclining his head. "I am Hinata-sama's cousin."

"Ah, I thought you were related. You do look alike" she said cheerfully, but quickly returned to less pleasing matters. "So, do you really think there's no hope for those two?" she asked in a low voice.

She saw something akin to pain flash through his stoic features, but it was gone before she could fully identify it.

"Ever since Hanabi-sama's - Hinata-sama's sister's - demise, her fate was sealed in that aspect. She is now the heir of the Hyuuga clan and must fulfil her duty" he answered in a stiff voice.

Kagome cocked her face to the side, thinking.

"And can't she renounce to the title or something? There must be someone else who can inherit her duties, right?" she asked, running through the options in her head.

"There isn't anyone else, if she abdicates the clan will remain headless, and that could only lead to chaos" he responded, frustrated. He loved his cousin like a sister, and wanted her to be free of the burden of leading the Hyuuga clan, but there was nothing he could do but stay by her side so that she could lean on him.

Kagome furrowed. Surely there was someone in the clan that could assume the role of the leader, right?

"Why, though? I bet you could be the head of the clan if you wanted to. After all you're her cousin, right? Even if you don't want to I'm sure there's at least someone that'd want the position, right?" she insisted.

Neji shook his head. If only it were that easy.

"There are… complications" he answered, uncomfortable. "Only Hinata-sama is qualified to assume the leadership of the clan."

Kagome sensed his uneasiness and decided to let the subject drop. She would seek out Hinata's father and talk to him about it later.

* * *

Kakashi was strolling around Konoha, his nose buried into his ever present orange book. He had been trying to find the miko for some time now, as it was still his assignment to watch over her, though he very much doubted that she was a threat at all. He would bet his Icha-Icha collection that Tsunade was making him follow her just to laugh at him too. Annoyed, he tugged at the offending necklace as if to take it off, though he knew it was in vain. Damn that vindictive miko! Weren't they supposed to be sweet, caring and _forgiving_? He sighed as he continued on his way, in search of that accursed woman. Luckily for him, he didn't have to search much longer.

"Why, hello, Kakashi-san!" she greeted with a deceivingly sweet smile on her face. "How are you this morning?" she asked as she latched onto one of his arms, grinning.

He answered her with a grunt. He knew why she was doing this, and inwardly cursed Tsunade for dropping on him the task to keep watch on the miko. Everyone knew that there were two things Gai did whenever he wasn't training: seeking out his 'Beautiful flower of youth' or challenging him to some idiotic thing or other. Either way, he'd end up with a mouthful of dirt. Wonderful.

Kagome looked up and down his body, noticing that there no dirt stains on him… yet.

"So, I take it there had been no Green Menace sightings today?" she asked conversationally.

He looked at her with his only visible eye.

"No, I haven't see Gai today. Or most accurately, he hasn't seen me" he pinned her with an angry stare. "How long are you planning to keep this up?"

She returned his glare with one of her own.

"You know the deal Kakashi. You get him off my back, I get the beads off your neck. It's not that difficult" she answered.

He gave an annoyed sigh.

"I already keep guard and take you away each time he comes around, what else do you want?" he asked, finally closing his book to give her his full attention.

"Something more permanent" she answered without a doubt. "If I take the beads off you, you won't be helping me get away from him anymore, so you better think up a way to get him to leave me alone permanently."

He gave another suffering sigh. He feared she'd say that. How on earth was he going to stop Gai from advancing on her, short of cutting off his legs? This was getting ridiculous. If there was a battle he could be handicapped by the beads, and he refused to lose his life for such a thing. She had promised to get them off him if the situation ever came to that, but damn, he hated depending on her like that.

He looked at the priestess, who was humming happily, hanging from his arm. He kinda liked the sensation, or he would have if it weren't for the little war the two were waging. Much to his dismay, he was forced to admit that he liked the miko, with her happy disposition and witty intellect. She was one of a kind, and extremely powerful in her field. And then there were her eyes. They were the first thing he'd noticed of her, those brown orbs filled with wisdom and sorrow, kindness and a steely will, that had seen far too much for her age. He knew there was a story behind those eyes and he'd be damned if he didn't want to hear it. He could admit to himself that he was a bit too interested in the miko, and that was why he hadn't forced her to take the beads off him yet. Deep inside, he liked this little game of theirs, minus the slamming into the ground.

A sharp tug to his sleeve brought Kakashi out of his inner musings. He turned his head to look at the subject of his thoughts, who was looking anxiously ahead of them. He followed her gaze and groaned. Sure enough, there was Maito Gai, happily heading their way and no doubt sprouting his usual speech of youth and love. The copy-nin cringed in preparation for what was to come, since the green clad shinobi had no doubt seen them already. Kagome tugged at his arm urgently.

"He's seen us! Do something! I don't want to spend the rest of my day training with that maniac!" she whispered in his ear. Gai kept coming closer. "Anything!"

Suddenly Kakashi had an idea.

"Anything?" he asked.

"Yes, dammit!" she answered, trying to conceal her presence behind the taller form of the shinobi.

"Okay" he said, and without further notice he slammed her against the nearest wall and crashed his lips to hers in a rather forceful kiss.

Kagome's eyes opened impossibly at the feeling of the rough fabric of his mask brushing against her lips, his skilful hands kneading her back in a way that made her want to melt. The hard planes of his body pressed against her softer form, as her arms went around his neck of their own volition.

Then, as soon as it began, the kiss ended and Kakashi let go of her lips, lingering just a moment longer than was necessary. They looked at each other's eyes for a moment that seemed to stretch in time until an anguished cry broke them out of their stupor.

"Arghhh!!! My eternal rival, I have lost to you once again!" he bellowed, thick streams of tears pouring from his eyes. Kagome looked at him in a strangely, Kakashi in annoyance. "One more time the strength of youth – SLAM!! – has shone brighter in you, and you have managed to win the favour of the most beautiful flower of Konoha! But my youth – SLAM!! – still shines bright, and in good competition I shall admit my defeat this time" he declared, not noticing that the man he was talking to was currently slammed face first into the ground. "I shall give up pursuing my most loved blossom, and demonstrate my youth – SLAM!! – by running five hundred laps around Konoha as promised!"

With that, he set out running, presumably to fulfil his promise on his one-sided bet.

Kagome was too shocked to even laugh at Kakashi for a while. After the spell had worn out, the jounin got up to stand beside the miko, who was still looking at the spot where Gai had disappeared.

"You know" she started "I kinda feel bad for him."

Kakashi just snorted.

"So, are you going to get this thing off me now?" he asked, instead.

She looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Not until I verify that it worked" she answered, as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

He groaned inwardly.

"And how long will it take?"

"Mmm, I don't know, a week at least."

This time he groaned out loud.

* * *

Kagome was lying awake on her bed that night. For some reason she couldn't stop thinking about what had transpired between Kakashi and her that evening. She knew it meant nothing, it was just the quickest way to get Gai off her back, but what worried her was that she had actually liked it. After what she had gone through when Naraku caught her, she hadn't taken too well to that kind of human contact. It surprised her greatly that she felt secure enough with Kakashi to allow him to do such a thing without her freaking out and trying to purify him to hell and back.

She shifted on her mattress, unable to find a comfortable posture.

If you ignored his habit of reading perverted books and his penchant for being incredibly late for everything, Kakashi was a nice guy. She couldn't really tell if he was handsome, what with his mask covering his face, but she could tell he had a nice body underneath all those clothes. Hell, she had felt it all earlier! She supposed it wasn't so strange that, seeing that she felt comfortable with him, she could be attracted to him. _'I bet it's because of the silver hair' _she thought, chuckling to herself.

She turned once again on the mattress, this time facing the window. She froze when she saw a shadow cut against the starry sky.

"KURENAI!!!" she shouted as she concentrated on placing a barrier on her window, strong enough to repel humans too, which took a lot of her stamina. Then she raced to the pregnant woman's bedroom, only to find her up and ready, if a bit unstable because of her enlarged belly.

"Kagome, what happened?" she asked, even forgetting to add the suffix to her name.

"There was someone outside my window. I made a barrier to keep them out but-"

CRASH!!

The sound of shattered glass cut her off in the middle of her sentence. Concentrating hard, she managed to form another barrier around the pregnant kunoichi and herself, this time spending what was left of her power. She was already tired from the day, and her powers weren't designed to fight off humans, but youkai, so it took all she had to keep this barrier up.

Kurenai fell into a fighting stance, as she waited for their attackers to make an appearance. She didn't have to wait for too long. There were three of them, all dressed up in black clothes, with ANBU masks hiding their identity. _'Shit, I can't fight three ANBU at the same time, not in this state!'_

Kagome started sweating as the black clad shinobi started attacking the barrier around them. Kurenai could see her cringe with each strike, but the barrier stood strong. The red eyed woman started making hand signs faster than the eye could follow. If this didn't work, they were screwed. She could see Kagome start falling to her knees, her hands stretched forward to keep the barrier up.

Finishing the hand signs, Kurenai cast her strongest genjutsu over the three attacking shinobi. After a few moments, the three of them stiffened, and started clutching their heads, bellowing in pain.

"Kagome, drop the barrier, we've got to finish them before they get out of the illusion" she told her.

The miko did as she was asked, releasing the purple sphere that surrounded them.

Kurenai didn't lose a moment in slashing each of the ninja's throats, breathing a sigh of relief when she made sure that they were all dead.

"Who are they?" Kagome asked, wobbling to her side unsteadily.

In response, the kunoichi walked over to one of the corpses and searched it until she found a hitai-ate.

"Mist…" she said, wondering what the hell could mist shinobi want with her or Kagome. She was going to explain further when a sharp pain shot through her belly.

She fell to her knees, her hands clutching her belly, with a very concerned Kagome kneeling right in front of her.

"Kurenai! Kurenai, what's wrong?" the red eyed woman merely whimpered. "Answer me, dammit!"

That's when Kagome noticed the growing puddle under the other woman's hunched form.

"Oh my Kami! He's coming!" she breathed. She embraced the older woman and whispered into her ear. "Everything's going to be okay. Your baby's coming, but we'll take you to the hospital and everything will be all right, so don't worry, okay?"

Kurenai just gave her a grateful, pained smile and tried to get up, so Kagome could get her to the hospital. They had made it halfway across the room when the front door slammed open.

"Kurenai!! Kagome!!" came Kakashi's voice. He had been on his way home from a night at the pub when he had felt ill-intentioned chakra outside Kurenai's house, so he'd ran there as fast as he could, but since he was quite far he hadn't been able to arrive sooner. He was relieved to feel only the two women's presence in the house, but his face darkened when he saw Kagome carrying a seemingly injured Kurenai, who wast adamantly clutching her abdomen.

"Kakashi! Thank Kami!" Kagome breathed "Kurenai's having her baby, we need to get her to the hospital."

Kakashi felt a surge of relief at knowing that both were all right. He picked the pregnant kunoichi up and rushed to the hospital, Kagome following behind at a slower pace.

_**There you have it, I hope the wait was worth it! Please let me know what you think!**_

_**Also, if you want to read some Neji/Kagome fic, check out my oneshot 'What kind of love', if you'd like. (Yep, shamelessly advertising here)**_


	5. The bard's song

_**Well, I'm finally back. I know it's been a long time, but life's crazier than ever and I have little to no time left to write. Thank you very much to all of you who are still following this story, and a very special thanks to everyone who reviewed, it's you who encourage me to go on. Without further ado, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**_

**5.- The bard's song**

_**Now you all know  
The bards and their songs  
When hours have gone by  
I'll close my eyes  
In a world far away  
We may meet again  
But now hear my song  
About the dawn of the night  
Let's sing the bards' song**_

Kagome and Kakashi were sitting in the inhumanly uncomfortable chairs typical of hospital waiting rooms. It was nearing dawn and they still hadn't gotten any news about the crimson eyed kunoichi who was still in the birthing room, together with the Hokage and her apprentice. And Shikamaru. The young jounin, jaw set with unusual stubbornness, had insisted that he be allowed into the room in his late sensei's stead, if only to hold Kurenai's hand through the ordeal. After he insisted a few times Tsunade had caved and let him in.

That had been about six hours prior. As the night progressed, members of both team eight and ten had kept showing up, news of their respective sensei's child being born spreading fast throughout the village.

Kagome sighed for the millionth time as she glanced at the closed doors wistfully. The night hadn't been an easy one. By the time she had arrived at the hospital Kakashi had already alerted the staff, Kurenai was being taken care of and he was waiting for her so she could tell him what had happened. After he'd gotten a full account of the incident, he had told her to stay in the relative safety of the hospital while he went to alert the Hokage of the situation. Which had been fine with her, since she felt she couldn't take another step if her life depended on it. Raising a hand to cover her mouth, she let out a wide yawn as she stretched herself, wincing at the stiffness of her neck. She hard a chuckle from her right side.

"Sleepy?" asked the copy ninja, sounding quite tired himself.

"Hmm-hm" she assented, still stretching her aching muscles. "It's not like you can sleep in these godforsaken chairs... hope the little one doesn't take much longer."

"Yeah..." he conceded. He knew that he shouldn't be worried about it, that women had children all the time and Kurenai was in the best possible hands, but he still felt that he should somehow watch over his late best friend's family.

Taking a page from Kagome's book he too stretched as much as he could while still sitting. He was about to say something to break the silence that had once again fallen on the waiting room when the doors leading to the birthing room slowly swung open, revealing a very pale faced Shikamaru carefully holding a small bundle of blankets in his arms. One of his hands was swollen with what looked like a couple of broken bones, but he didn't seem to notice. In a second all the occupants of the room were on him, demanding news. He slowly looked up from the precious bundle and shifted to show them the reddened face of a newborn boy.

"Guys... this is Asuma-kun" he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"I... is Kurenai-san okay?" asked Hinata in a small voice.

He looked at her and nodded, to everyone's relief.

"Yeah, they're cleaning her right now" he said. "Troublesome woman broke my hand too." He winced.

"Here" said Ino, extending her arms to take the infant from him. "Go have that hand healed, we'll wait for you here."

He reluctantly did as his teammate asked, heading down the hall in a daze.

"Poor guy, I'm surprised he didn't pass out from the shock" Kiba said, extending a finger to play with the newborn that Ino promptly swatted away.

"Idiot! Be careful with those claws of yours!" she screeched angrily.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, forgot 'bout 'em for a moment there."

"What the hell is all that noise about?! This is a hospital, not a goddamn pub!" came the Hokage's angry voice from behind them, Sakura hot on her heels. Ino had the decency to look slightly ashamed as she handed the baby to Sakura, who took him back to his mother's room.

"C-can we go in to s-see Kurenai-sensei, Hokage-sama?" stammered Hinata in her quiet voice, looking at the imposing image of the blond medic-nin.

Tsunade shook her head negatively.

"She's asleep right now, it'd be better if you got some sleep and came back later in the day. I'll tell her you were all here, though." She responded. Then she turned to look at Kagome, who had been silent the whole time. "Kagome, I want to speak with you. Kakashi, you too. Come" she ordered, turning around and heading down the hall for her office.

Once the three of them where in the small room that served as an office for the head of the hospital, she closed the door and looked from the priestess to the silver haired jounin, as if wondering where to start.

"So, Kagome, " she said at last "Kakashi told me what happened at Kurenai's house, but I'd like to hear it from you."

Once Kagome made a recount of the facts, the Hokage fell once again into silence.

"So those mist nin attacked both you and Kurenai..." she said after a while. She looked at Kakashi. "What do you think they were after?"

He scratched his masked chin thoughtfully before answering.

"There wasn't anything that would be of value to Mist in the house, so it is safe to say that they were either after Kurenai or Kagome" he said.

Kagome visibly stiffened beside him. What could they possibly want with her? It must have been the genjutsu specialist they were after, right? Not that _that _thought made her feel any better. Kakashi's voice interrupted her musings.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was Kagome they were after, since Kurenai doesn't possess any bloodline limit, nor did Asuma, so that rules out the possibility that their child did. Even if her genjutsu abilities are impressive, if they were that desperate for a specialist they would have gone after a Sharingan user" he reasoned. "Kagome's abilities, on the other hand, are unique and impossible to emulate, so it would be the logical choice for a kidnapping."

Tsunade nodded her head in agreement as Kagome started to freak out. What the hell was going on?

"Wait a minute" she said. "What would those ninja want with me? I've had no contact with any shinobi before I met Kakashi's team back in the forest, I have nothing to do with them!"

Tsunade nodded once again, trying to find a connection. She knew positively that Kagome had nothing to do with other shinobi nations, if only for the fact that Naruto had told her how the Kyuubi had reacted when he'd first seen her. If any of the other nations had someone who could terrify the nine tails in such a manner they would've overtaken the other villages a long time ago. So that was not it.. Then what?

Kakashi was thinking along the same lines. What connexion could possibly be between the priestess and a village such a Mist? He couldn't imagine the good hearted miko having dealings with the shinobi of the bloody mist, as they called themselves.

It was said miko who broke the silence once again.

"I... I think it must have something to do with the demons" she said. The other two stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I mean... it must have, right? I am no good fighting humans, after all. Sure, I can fend off just about any civilian without trouble, but a genin could take me out without much hassle. But when I created the barrier around the village and fought off those youkai... Well, I might as well have written 'PRIESTESS' in neon lights. So there must be some connection between the two, right?" she finished, almost reluctantly. Her fists where clenched at her sides, knuckles white with tension. She hated with a passion feeling helpless, and she loathed with all her might placing others in danger. And it seemed that it was exactly what she was doing. "Dammit!" she growled.

Tsunade and Kakashi looked at each other, then back at the fuming priestess in front of them. Mist, allied with youkai? They didn't even want to think about it. It could be disastrous at best, it would have been already if it hadn't been for Kagome. What would happen if they succeeded in getting her next time?

The blond haired Hokage sighed in frustration. Why her? She needed a drink. And she needed to make sure that Kagome stayed safe. Luckily, she had the perfect solution for that right in front of her.

"Kakashi, I want you to keep an eye on Kagome from now on at all times, don't let her out of your sight and protect her with your life" she ordered, then turned to Kagome before she could open her mouth in protest. "Kagome, you must understand the situation. Right now you're the only thing between Konoha and those youkai. I know that you don't like this, but Kakashi is the very best and we can't take any chances. Please, don't make this any more difficult than it is. I'll try to contact the Mizukage and confirm or deny our suspicions, though it fits too well for my liking. I'll also call back all the teams that are outside Konoha until this situation is resolved. For now get some rest, I'll call you when I know something" she said in dismissal, letting her head fall to her hands, the beginnings of a headache, that for once had nothing to do with sake, making their appearance.

Kagome turned and left the room, jaw set so tightly that her teeth hurt and mind working in overdrive. There had to be something she could do, besides sitting here safely waiting for the enemy to attack.

Kakashi followed after her, a new problem that hadn't occurred to him earlier beginning to take shape in his mind. How the hell was _he_ going to survive living 24/7 with a bad tempered, vindictive and frustrated miko? _'Damn, this'd better pay like a S-ranked...'_

_

* * *

_Half an hour later Kagome and Kakashi entered the Sharingan user's small apartment. They'd made a detour to pick the miko's sparse belongings from Kurenai's house and ask how the investigation was going. It seemed that they hadn't advanced much, so they'd left the ANBU and Intelligence shinobi to their task and set off for the jounin's home.

Kagome sighed as she plopped down on the lumpy sofa, stretching her tired legs in front of her. She hadn't spoken a word to his companion since they left the hospital earlier, her mind busy with thoughts that altered between frustration and determination. She barely noticed when Kakashi sat down beside her, similar thoughts running through his mind. He snapped out of it, though, when the miko brought her fist angrily onto the armrest.

"Dammit!" she swore, biting her lip in frustration.

The silver haired shinobi turned to watch her as she vented her anger gripping said armrest till her fist went numb.

"You okay?" he asked needlessly.

She glared at him. No, of course she wasn't alright.

"I hate it! Why must I always place everyone in danger? I feel so damn useless!" she half shouted, half growled.

"You know you're not useless, all of us are depending on you right now, you know" he tried to calm her. An angry Kagome never bode well for one's physical integrity, after all.

She wasn't being reasonable, though. She was beyond angry, she wanted to smash something, scream, throw things, anything!

"How can I calm down?! Kurenai and little Asuma _could have died_ because of me tonight! My God, she was nine months pregnant and she had to defeat them herself! I hate feeling so fucking helpless!"

By now she was all out screaming, her nails biting into the skin of her palms so hard it was starting to draw blood, her back so tense it seemed about to snap. With a suffering sigh Kakashi grabbed her fisted hands in his, slowly coaxing them to open and relax before she could hurt herself. Her eyes snapped up to look at him, anger, frustration, guilt and a hundred other feelings swirling in them chaotically. He held her gaze, wondering if he should use the Sharingan on her so that she may calm down. He resolved against it, instead intertwining his fingers with hers and squeezing her hands to comfort her. When he spoke, it was very quiet, in the manner one would talk to a frightened child.

"Kagome" he said quietly, "if it hadn't been for you they would've already been dead. So would I. So stop this nonesense" he commanded.

She hung her head, defeated. He was right, of course, and she knew it, but the feeling of helplessness still remained. And to add to her turbulent emotions, the thumbs tracing small circles on the skin of her hands were doing strange things to her insides, and the memory of the previous day's kiss (had it only been one day?) came back with a vengeance. She had to make use of all her willpower to push down the lump that was forming in her throat and that threatened to bring her to humiliating tears. Instead, she forced herself to calm down and take a deep breath. Then, slowly, she raised her eyes to gaze at the charcoal grey one that was looking intently at her.

"Thank you" she whispered at last, giving Kakashi a hesitant smile and squeezing his hands back. He gave her his trademark happy eye crease and tightened his hands reassuringly one last time before letting go and getting up from the couch.

"So..." he said casually "I guess you can take the bed, since there's only one. I'll take the couch." He had _some _manners after all.

Kagome shook her head rather violently.

"No, it's fine, I'm smaller, so I'll fit in the couch better" she said, more out of politeness than anything else. The lumpy piece of furniture looked anything but comfortable, and after the eventful night she needed all the rest she could get. She fully expected him to insist, but was in for a surprise.

"Really? Why, thank you, Kagome-chan" Kakashi answered without missing a beat, giving her a wave and disappearing into the small bedroom.

Kagome stared after him in open-mouthed disbelief. What the hell?

"Hey!" she shouted after him, banging on his closed bedroom door "I was just being polite, I do want the bed!"

A few seconds later the door swung back open, almost making Kagome , she caught herself in time. When she looked back up, she had to catch herself before letting out an embarrassed 'eep!'. There stood Kakashi, clad only in a pair of loose sweat pants and his ever present mask. She couldn't help noticing that he was indeed as well built as she'd originally thought. She regained control of herself soon enough to avoid staring for too long, but she'd bet that the idiot was smirking under the mask.

"That's too bad, Kagome-chan" he said. Now she was sure he was smirking. Damn him. "But if you want to share, be my guest" he invited, gesturing to the narrow bed in the corner of the room. There was no way in hell that two people could fit in a bed that small.

"You're insufferable" Kagome growled, turning back and heading to the sofa. She was sure she'd seen a blanket somewhere.

"So, I take it we won't be sharing the bed?" he asked from the doorway.

"You wish!" Kagome called back, wrapping herself in an old blanket she'd found and settling on the lumpy couch. She could hear Kakashi chuckling as he went back into his room.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

It was some hours later that Kakashi woke up to the screams coming from his living room. Startled, he shot out of bed, kunai in hand and Sharingan flashing red, and barreled into the room the screams were coming from.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU CREEP, DON'T TOUCH ME!!"

Kagome was thrashing on his couch, limbs swinging madly as she fought some invisible foe while screaming her lungs out. She was covered in a thin layer of sweat and her expression was a mixture of terror and hatred that was out of place on someone like her.

Kakashi moved close to her and grabbed her shoulder, trying to shake her out of her nightmare. She only struggled harder, so he had to grasp her other shoulder as well.

"Kagome, wake up!" he told her, shaking both her shoulders now, more forcefully than before. He sighed in relief when her eyes started to open slowly. What she said next, though, confused him more than anything.

"Sesshoumaru... you came" she spoke drowsily, before falling back to sleep.

Kakashi stood there for a while, glancing confusedly at the woman sleeping, now peacefully, on his sofa. Who the hell was Sesshoumaru?

* * *

It was a few hours later that Kakashi was woken up once again, this time because of the insistent pounding of a fist against his bedroom door. He groaned in suffering, stuffing his head under the pillow and willing the intruder to go away. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he remembered his 'guest'. Cursing under his breath, he tiredly got up and made his way to the door.

"What do you want?" he asked, rather grumpily, when he encountered the raven haired miko fully dressed and for all appearances ready to go. He yawned sleepily, scratching his mussed hair.

"Come on, we need to get going" she told him excitedly, a determined expression set on her beautiful features. There was a spark in her eyes that had been missing before.

"What's the hurry?" he asked, heading for the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

"Well, I've been thinking" Kagome explained from the other side of the door "and I realized that the best source of info for this whole mess would probably be a youkai."

"So?" Kakashi inquired "It's not like we can catch one of those beasts and interrogate it."

"No, of course not" she responded. "But that's why I have to go talk to Naruto."

She could hear Kakashi chocking on his toothpaste.

"You plan on interrogating the _Kyuubi_??" he asked between pants.

"Yep, that's the plan" she answered happily.

Kagome jumped back when the door swung open once again, to reveal a fully dressed Kakashi.

"Kagome, the Kyuubi has been sealed into Naruto for the past sixteen years. There's no way that it could know what's going on right now, in the unlikely case that it decided to cooperate" Kakashi stated.

"Oh, don't worry, it's no that what I'm going to ask" she said. "And believe me, it _will_ cooperate" she added, grinning deviously.

Fifteen minutes later they were strolling past the gates of Konoha Hospital, intent on paying a visit to Kurenai and her newborn child as well as asking for Naruto's whereabouts.

"Kakashi-sensei, Kagome-san!" greeted Sakura's cheerful voice from one of the corridors. She waved at them and they made their way over to where she was standing, a tall stack of papers carefully balanced on her hands.

"Good afternoon, Sakura-chan" Kagome greeted. "How's it going?"

The pink haired kunoichi sighed tiredly.

"Not too bad, I'm finishing my shift when I take back these files to Tsunade-shishou's office, then I'm off to bed." She gave them an appraising look. "Are you here to visit Kurenai-san?" she asked. They nodded. "That's what I thought. She's sleeping right now, though, maybe it'd be better if you came back later" she informed them, still trying to balance the stack.

Kagome looked disappointed, but Kakashi didn't lift his nose from the book he was reading.

"Oh, okay then" she said. "Could you tell us where to find Naruto-kun? I need to talk to him."

Sakura blowed a stubborn pink strand of hair out of her face. It tickled.

"Sure, at this time he should be at the training grounds with Sasuke, beating the crap out of each other" she sighed in resignation. "Those two... Anyway, you're sure to find them there, good luck with getting their attention, though" she smiled. "And do me a favour and send their asses here when they're finished, they always manage to break some thing or other."

Kagome laughed.

"Done. Thank you, Sakura-chan, I'll see you around" she said, waving to the pinkette as she wobbled away with her papers. Then she turned back to the silver haired ninja who'd stood silently through the whole exchange. She tried to grab his book, to no avail, but it got his attention.

"Well, you know the grounds better than I do, lead the way!" she ordered. He complied, muttering all the way about troublesome women in a way that was all too reminiscent of Shikamaru.

* * *

As Sakura had predicted, they found both the Uchiha and the Kyuubi container in one of the training grounds, though neither of them looked too bad for the wear. It took them a while to get their attention, mainly because Kakashi refused to move his lazy ass to stop their sparring, but when they finally managed the four of them sat on the grassy floor as Kagome explained her plan.

"So, you want to talk to the Kyuubi to learn which other youkai are around?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Hmm-hm, I want to know if any of my old friends is still around, so they could help us. And even if they're not..." she trailed off, not really wanting to think about the possibility of all of them being dead. "Even if they're not, we might learn something about the one who's controlling the low level youkai." The rest nodded in understanding. "So, is there any way I can talk to it in person?"

"I can help you" Sasuke answered. "My Sharingan can take you to where the Kyuubi is being kept."

"Yeah, Sasuke-teme here once got into my head with those freakish eyes of his" Naruto said, making a face.

"Okay, then, whenever you want" Kagome said, sitting very straight in preparison for whatever the raven haired shinobi was about to do.

Sasuke turned to look at Kakashi.

"What are you going to do?" he asked simply.

"I'm going in too, but I've got the mangekyo as well, so you just worry about Naruto and Kagome, I'll get myself in" the older man answered, lifting his hitai-ate.

"All right, here we go" Sasuke said. "Kagome-san, Dobe, look at me."

Kagome did as she was told, and watched in fascination as the young man's dark eyes started bleeding red, revealing a swirling black pinwheel in the centre. She stared at them, mesmerized, as the pinwheels spinned slowly, a small part of her noticing that her surroundings were slowly melting away, leaving her in a black and red world. Before she had a chance to explore this new and strange dimension, however, it started changing as well to reveal a plain white room, with something of gigantic proportions on the far end. When the red eyes slowly looked away from her, she started to take more notice of her surroundings. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were there with her, and behind thick metal bars was what could only be the Kyuubi.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, more from the trip than the demon standing in front of her. "Those eyes of yours are sure something else!" she told Sasuke, who lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight smirk.

"Yeah, well, don't boost the bastard's ego anymore or his head's gonna burst or something" Naruto said grumpily, which made the Uchiha's smirk a bit wider.

"Now, now, children" Kakashi said, all of his attention on the great demon in front of him, his ever present book nowhere in sight.

The other two stopped bickering as Kagome took a few steps forward, until she stood a couple of feet away from the fox demon's snout.

"_**Miko..."**_ came the guttural voice of the demon.

"Demon" she countered. She knew it was irrational, but it'd always irritated her when they called her by anything but her given name. "I have some things to ask you" she stated, her voice firm and calm. The other three watched the interaction in awe and curiosity.

"_**Such insolence! Why would I help a miko of all people?**__**"**_ his dark, cruel laughter reverberated on the walls of the room, making it even more sinister. The miko didn't bat an eye, though. She'd heard worse, after all. _**"I shall enjoy overwhelming your aura, breaking you slowly even from inside this jail"**_ he threatened, voice full of age old hatred.

Kagome's glared at him, and her voice became lower and dangerous, backed by the power of a priestess that could rival the legendary Midoriko. She released the tight rein she held on her aura, letting her power run free around her with intimidating intensity.

"Do not speak about matters you know nothing about, Kyuubi" she said, slowly. "I faced down the dark half demon Naraku in the Feudal Age, I traveled with the hanyou Inuyasha and fought beside the Demon Lord Sesshoumaru. I saw the gates of Hell opening in the mortal world and witnessed the power of the Three Great Swords. I am the Priestess of the Shikon, the one who purified the cursed jewel that contained the souls of Midoriko and the Great Demons! You shall do as I command!"

The three shinobi watched, mouths open in amazed disbelief as the Kyuubi, the greatest of the nine bijuu, backed away with each of her words, hiding in the dark recesses of his cell, terrified by the sheer power they possessed.

"_**You can't be her... She died five hundred years ago!" **_ the Kyuubi tried to counter, though he remained hidden in the dark.

"She didn't die, she disappeared. She was thrown forth five hundred years into the future, to the time she belonged to" she answered, the raw pain of her admittance evident in her voice.

"_**You are truly her, aren't you?" **_Kagome nodded firmly. _**"The Shikon no Miko... very well. I shall answer your questions."**_

"Good" Kagome said. "First question, what happened to all the demons? Are the bijuu the only ones that remain alive?"

"_**No, they aren't. After the Battle of the Shikon there was a period of peace between human and youkai, both lick**__**ing their wounds that the jewel had inflicted. However, that didn't last long. Humans are a stupid, self centered race that couldn't accept what was different from them. Even if the Taijiya no longer hunted down peaceful youkai, the villagers organized hunts and rallied parties to exterminate us, and so we retaliated. In a last effort to avoid both races from erradicating each other, Inuyasha-sama and his mate, together with Sesshoumaru-sama, created a barrier between worlds, separating the youkai and the human. We call it the Wall. After that, we knew no more of the human world."**_

"And then how is it that you are here?" Kagome asked, lost in memories of her old friends.

"_**Sixteen years ago a crack appeared in the Wall. I have no knowledge of how it happened of who did it, but it allowed some of us to pass through. We are what the humans call the nine bijuu."**_

"I see..." Kagome mused. "So those youkai most likely came through another crack in this Wall. Hmm... We'll need to find it, and somehow close it again. It would be great help if I could communicate with Inuyasha and the others, but we'd have to find the crack first..." she touched her chin with her finger in thought.

"_**However, we are not the only youkai **__**on this side of the Wall" **_this brought Kagome out of her reverie with a start.

"Who else is there?" she asked.

"_**Shippo-sama refused to leave, and remained hidden among the humans. He never stopped searching for his adopted mother."**_

Kagome gasped.

"Shippo-chan..." she whispered. With a nod to the fox demon, she turned to her awestruck companions. "Sasuke-kun, please get us out of here" she asked. With a nod, he undid the technique and Naruto, Kagome and him appeared in the clearing. A few moments later Kakashi came back too. There was a moment of silence that was broken by Naruto's loud declaration.

"Woah, Kagome-chan! You're even scarier than Sakura-chan and Tsunade baa-chan!"

**TBC...**

_**So that's it for now, I hope you liked the chapter, as well as the reasons why there aren't many youkai in the ninja world. Please, review and let me know what you think.**_


	6. Another time

_**I'm back! I'm terribly sorry for the incredible tardiness of this chapter**__**, life's becoming more hectic with each passing day. I'll try to keep updating more regularly now that the school year has begun again.**_

_**As usual, my most sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a review. You're the best any author could ask for, thank you so very much!**_

**Chapter 6: Another time**

_**The pressure and the fear it made you blind  
You thought you have to give some burden away  
But are you really sure if it's required?  
Don't you want to find out another day?**_

Kagome sat on the ground, legs crossed and her head resting on her hands as she processed what the nine tailed bijuu had just told her. Shippo was here. He was looking for her. Had been doing so for the last five hundred years. And Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Kouga... all of them. They were still alive. She felt dizzy and giddy and emotionally exhausted all at the same time, which was quite confusing. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and jumped at the unexpected contact.

"Are you okay?" asked the masked jounin.

She made a noncommittal sound, but nodded her head. She wasn't all that well now, but she would be once she assimilated what she'd learnt. She'd given up all hope of ever encountering her friends again, after her failed attempts to look them up in the History books she'd managed to get her hands on, after the fruitless attempts at feeling them while she traveled the land in search of their auras. Now the pieces were starting to fit...

"Hey, Kagome-chan, what was all that awesome stuff you told the Kyuubi? Man, was he scared shitless! And who were Inuyasha –is that even a name?- and Sess-something and that Naruku fellow you talked about?And..."

"Easy there, Naruto" Kakashi interrupted "Let her digest it before she tells us" she directed a pointed gaze at the shocked miko "Because she's going to tell us everything, aren't you, Kagome-san?"

Kagome just nodded again. She really wasn't too happy about that, but after her stunt with the fox demon she knew she had it coming. She really should control her temper better, but dammit, she'd gotten used to demons acquiescing to her demands without so much as a protest, back then in the Feudal Era. Not that she could blame them, she'd been quite awesome –as Naruto would've put it- back then. She repressed a bitter laugh. Nowadays she was pretty useless, in a world where demons barely existed and ninja were the ruling force. Still, it seemed that she had yet another quest to take, as if last one hadn't been enough for five lifetimes. Fate was such a bitch.

Deciding that it was better to take what destiny threw at her head on, she dusted her hands on the dark pants Kurenai had bought for her and got up, facing the three shinobi that were observing her with curiosity painted all over their features.

"Not now, not here" she said, trying to sound calm and collected. She failed miserably. "First I need to put my ideas in order. What the fox told me was completely new, and important too." She looked at her watch. "How about lunch at your house, Kakashi? I can explain everything over the meal" she requested.

Said jounin started protesting, arguing that there was hardly enough place in his small apartment for the two of them, let alone four people. However, Naruto had the perfect solution.

"We'll crash at Sakura-chan's, that way we won't have to tell her later" he grinned, taking Kagome by the hand and pulling her along. "We'll buy take out at Teuchi jii-chan's so that Sakura-chan doesn't hit us over the head ne, Sasuke-teme?"

The mentioned Uchiha, who had been keeping out of the conversation, answered with a non-committal grunt but started walking towards Ichiraku's. Kakashi followed, his hands buried in his pockets and his back slouched lazily.

**Half an hour later**

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAN!"

A muffled curse and a flying alarm-clock met Naruto's enthusiastic greeting.

"Ouch! Sakura-chan, you're mean!" the jinchuuriki whined childishly, rubbing his sore head. "And we brought you lunch too!"

Said pink haired kunoichi appeared moments later from the darkness of her room, sleepily rubbing her eyes with one hand while she covered har yawn with the other.

"Hey guys..." she greeted, still half asleep. "What are you doing here?" She eyed the four people that had let themselves into her house, awaiting an answer.

"Hn" was Sasuke's extensive response.

Kakashi gave her a happy eye crinkle.

"Ah, you see, Sakura-chan, Kagome here had a rather interesting encounter earlier this morning and we thought we'd come here to discuss it over lunch." He paled a little as he noticed the irritation increasingly showing on his student's face. "We thought you wouldn't want to be left out of it, we even brought you your favorite miso ramen" he added hurriedly.

Irritation melting away at the mention of her favorite food, Sakura shrugged and made her way to the kitchen. Sasuke followed in silence, Naruto hurrying after them with everyone's take out. Kagome raised an eyebrow at the masked ninja, that was shrugged off with another eye crinkle before both headed after the rest of them.

Once the were all seated and enjoying their still warm lunch, Sakura brought up the topic everyone had been thinking about.

"So, Kagome-san, what was that interesting encounter you had about?" she asked between bites of her ramen.

"Well, you see..." Kagome started hesitantly, not really sure of how to tackle this conversation. She was given some time because of Naruto's interruption.

"You wouldn't believe it, Sakura–chan, it was AWESOME! Kagome-chan asked teme here to do that weird thing with his eyes so she could talk to the Kyuubi and we all got inside my head and man, was the fox scared shitless when Kagome-chan told him she'd done a bunch of awesome sounding things with some weird named people and then he was telling her about a demon world, and-"

"Naruto" the Copy nin intersected. "Let her do the talking, that's what we came for."

"Sorry, Kagome-chan" he apologized, rubbing his head sheepishly. "It was just so awesome that-"

"NARUTO!"

"Oops, sorry."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly, Kakashi spoke again.

"Now, Kagome-san, would you mind telling us what the whole thing was about?"

Kagome sighed in defeat. Might as well get it over with.

"All right. It'll be better, though, if I start at the beginning. I was fifteen years old and I lived with my family in an old shrine in Tokio, my hometown. It was my birthday that day, and I was leaving for school when my cat Buyo ran into the old well house. When I went after it, a demon came out of the well, and dragged me down into it, and five hundred years into the past..."

**Some three hours later**

"...and that's how I got captured by Naraku, along with the piece of the jewel that we had collected so far. The sick fuck decided that I deserved far worse than a quick death, so I was not killed immediately" she grimaced in remembrance, but quickly hid it lest they noticed. However, the Copy-nin's eyes were far too keen, even if he didn't say a word... for now.

"That would be his downfall, for everything would have been lost if I had died that day. Several weeks later I was rescued by the demon lord Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's older brother, who had joined our cause to defeat the menace that Naraku posed to everyone of us. I was taken to his fortress and healed there, as we prepared for one last stand. Naraku had the jewel nearly complete, and we couldn't risk him getting the final pieces, the ones embedded in Kouga's legs. So we trained, and we planned, and when everything was ready we openly set out to find him, using those pieces to lure him out."

She took a breath as she prepared to relate the final battle against their greatest foe.

"I can't recall clearly what happened throughout the fight, it's a whirlwind of adrenaline, blood and screams. I was kept out of the thick of battle as my comrades opened the path to shoot at the cursed half demon's heart. That moment, I remember as clearly as yesterday."

_The screams were dying down as most of the demon hordes fell slaughtered to the bloody ground. She could see Miroku lying on the __soiled dirt, painfully clutching his cursed hand as the miasma from the demons he had absorbed made its way into his bloodstream. Sango was barely able to stand by herself, but nevertheless she was placed in front of him, stubbornly fighting any demon that dared get close to him. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were both in the thick of battle, tirelessly slaying tentacle upon tentacle of the evil hanyou as the made their way to the main body of the beast. Kouga was lying senseless on her left, having been dragged out of the battle by Shippo, who was valiantly watching the whole thing. _

_Suddenly, she saw the opening she'__d been waiting for, and on instinct alone she released one of the strongest sacred arrows she'd ever launched. She observed as it burned every demon on it's wake, it's purple aura leaving a sparkling stream as it flew on towards its mark. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru jumped away just in time to avoid being purified to ashes, and the projectile made its way to strike... five inches away from its intended mark. Kagome watched in despair as Naraku backed down, badly wounded, but not dead._

_In that moment__ a strange insanity took over her mind, and casting away her bow, her only weapon, she sped down the blood swamped land to the cause of so much misery and pain. Ignoring the screams of her friends, the alarmed look on the inu Lord's face, she ran all the way to the cursed hanyou's side, a purple fire burning around her with more intensity the closer she got to her foe. A mindless, broken expression on her face, she pushed away the burnt tentacles that tried in vain to block her path and, in one swift move, plunged her hand deep into the hanyou's wounded chest. Gripping her hand around his heart, she only whispered one word before pushing forward, ripping the still beating organ, to grasp the cursed jewel that was nestled there. _

"_Goodbye"_

_And in one blinding pulse of sacred light, she poured all of herself into purifying the completely black jewel. The agonizing scream that left the hanyou's throat would haunt her nightmares for years to come, as his body was disintegrated, burned to a brink by the purple fire that her body emitted. _

_When the light finally died down, she looked incredulously at the nearly complete jewell on her hand. Eyes wide open, only one thing crossed her mind._

"_It's over."_

_And she passed out._

"I woke up several hours later in Kaede's small hut. Though none of us had come out of the fight unscathed, we were all alive and that was what mattered most. Now the only thing left was the matter of what to do with the Shikon. Legend said that only a pure, completely selfless wish could make it disappear. And so, I mulled over it for days, trying to come up with such a wish. In truth, how do you make a wish for something that you truly don't desire? In the end, I came up with the perfect idea.

Without telling any of my friends of the decision I'd made, I summoned all of them one fine autum morning. I had asked Sesshoumaru to bring the clay body of the miko Kikyo, my previous incarnation. Though he said nothing about it, I am positive that he knew what I was about to do. That's why I asked him of all people to do it for me; he was never one to meddle in other people's affairs or decisions.

When all of us were gathered there, I announced that I'd made my decision, and that I would make the wish upon the jewel then and there. Knowing what awaited me, I pronounced the words that sealed my death warrant : _I wish for Kikyo to be brought back to life._"

Sakura was the first one to come up with the obvious question.

"But why would you do such a thing?! You knew that only one of you could be alive at the time, only one of you could house your soul!"

Kagome nodded slowly.

"You're right, I was aware of the consequences of that wish. I was going to give up my soul and my life so that Inuyasha an Kikyo could have a second chance at happiness. They both deserved it. And as for me, that sacrifice would ensure the destruction of the cursed jewel, forever riding the world of its influence. That was enough for me." _'Or, al least, that's what I told myself. I didn't want to die, but I couldn't let it continue. I had to do it.'_

Naruto was staring at her in open mouthed astonishment. Sasuke was more subtle about it, but he couldn't completely hide his own surprise. Kakashi's face, however, was unreadable. After a moment, he spoke.

"However, that doesn't explain how you ended up here, in this time and place" he pointed out.

"You're right, it doesn't" she responded. "There was one thing I hadn't taken into account when I made my decision: Midoriko's will."

"Midoriko?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Exactly, Midoriko. The priestess whose soul had been trapped, along with the youkais' into the Shikon no Tama. I heard her voice as my soul broke free of my body.

'_Thank you, my child. As my parting gift, I'__ll bestow upon you the second chance you denied to yourself.'_

And then I found myself in this world. After a long time of roaming the land, I found out that this wasn't another world at all, it was the future. I was back in my own time, except that the world I'd left behind was nothing like this one. I surmise we must have changed some crucial event of the past, and so the world didn't evolve to be the one I used to know, but this one. The past is exactly the same, up until the point in which the events I just told you about took I said, I roamed the land for a while, searching for any sign of my friends or my family to no avail, until I decided to settle down in a small hut in the forest. The rest, as they say, is History."

All of them remained silent for a while, processing the information they had been given. In truth, it sounded a lot more like a fantastic, epic tale than reality, but after what they had seen with the Kyuubi and the demon attacks, they were rather inclined to believe what she'd told them. It was Kakashi who broke the silence at last.

"If this is true, Kagome, we will have to inform Tsunade-sama immediately. I know you're not too keen on letting people know about your past, but must realize that this isn't a normal situation. If that Naraku, or any of your past enemies is the one behind the demon attacks, then she needs to be informed" he said reluctantly. He understood perfectly her desire to keep her past hidden, but he was a Konoha shinobi first and foremost.

Said miko only nodded her head in acquiescence.

"I understand, but if it's not necessary, I'd like for it to only be made known to the Hokage. I don't want it being chatted about everywhere, and most people wouldn't believe it anyway" she requested.

Noticing her defeated tone of voice, Kakashi looked at her intently. She looked spent, as if she were terribly old within her twenty five years of life. It shouldn't surprise him, though. She'd been through more things in her life than _he_ had, which was more than impressive to begin with, and that without counting the things he was sure she'd omitted during her story. In fact, he was rather surprised that she hadn't gone insane, or at least become as jaded and world weary as he himself was. Though, if what he was seeing now was anything to go by, she was a lot more tired than she made everyone think. She was only human, after all.

Sakura's voice brought him out of his musings.

"Don't worry, Kagome-san. I don't think Tsunade-shishou would want the story spread out to the four winds, anyway" she smiled impishly. "And I'll personally make sure that the loudmouth over there keeps the trap shut."

Kagome laughed a little at the blond's indignant protest that he was the BEST secret keeper ever. After all, he was going to be Hokage (DATTEBAYO!).

"Thank you guys, I really appreciate it" she said, smiling wearily. "I think I'm off for a walk now, there are a lot of things I want to think about" she said apologetically, rising from her seat.

"Don't worry about it. We'll go update the Hokage on everything you've told us. Dobe, Sakura, let's go" Sasuke said, standing and turning around to leave the room.

Naruto stared dumbly at his female teammate.

"What was that?" he asked, wide eyed.

The pink haired kunoichi could only shake her head, dumbfounded.

"I think that was Sasuke-kun being... nice" she said, still not being able to believe it herself. "C'mon, let's go."

Both of them departed after their raven haired teammate, while Kagome watched curiously. Kakashi had an indulgent look on what could be seen of his face.

"Looks like you've made quite the impression, Kagome-chan" he teased.

She shrugged.

"If you say so..." she turned to leave the house as well. Kakashi followed a few paces behind. When he received a pointed stare he gave her the happy eye crease he was so fond of.

"Looks like we'll be going for a walk, ne? C'mon let's go."

Kagome cursed the Hokage as she followed after the silver haired shinobi. She wanted to be alone, dammit! Was it so much to ask for?

* * *

It was nighttime by the time Kagome and Kakashi made it home. They had spent most of the evening atop the Hokage monument, the miko immersed in her own thoughts while the masked jounin read his ever present book. It had been surprisingly peaceful for both, the silence being companionable instead of tense. Not that any of them would admit it, at least to anyone else, but over the last two months of bickering and fighting they'd developed a sort of fondness for the other.

Kakashi went straight to his room, while Kagome made her way to the small kitchen.

"Do you want anything for dinner?" she asked, opening the door to the fridge. She didn't need to hear a response, however. The few things that were stashed in the small space were, at least, three years old. There was something of a greenish brown colour that she'd swear was alive by now. Wrinkling her nose, she hurriedly closed the door again.

"Ugh, that was disgusting..." she said, grimacing.

"I guess you just got acquaintanced with my fridge, hm?" said a voice just behind her. She jumped slightly at the closeness.

"Idiot, you scared me!" she said, hitting his arm half-heartedly. "But yes, you're right. I don't know even why you bother keeping it there, you might as well throw that out before it takes over your kitchen."

He shrugged non committally.

"Anyway... we'll have to go get some take out or something, since I guess the cupboards aren't much better..." she continued.

"Hmm, well, at least there's nothing growing in them, I think" was the answer she got.

"Oh, well. Let's go get dinner then. I'd go by myself, but then I guess you'd have to follow me so..." she eyed him, sporting a winning grin. Kakashi looked at her in teasingly.

"Actually, you'll find that the cupboards are rather well stocked and in good condition" he said, walking past her to open the door to one of them. It was surprisingly tidy and clean.

Kagome looked at him in mild amusement.

"So, what was the fridge thing all about?"

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, you see, it's a rather good way to ensure Naruto isn't going to break into my house looking for lunch. Most people never make it past the fridge and into the cupboards" he answered, crinkling his eye happily.

The miko shook her head in disbelief.

"You're incredible" she said at last.

"Why, thank you very much, Kagome-chan!"

"Idiot" she muttered, punching his arm half-heartedly.

* * *

Once dinner was over, they went about making themselves ready for bed. Kagome was reaching for her small blanket when she heard Kakashi's voice, as he came out of his own room.

"So, what are you going to do about what the Kyuubi said to you?"

Startled by the question, she turned around too fast and hit her leg with the small coffee table.

"Ouch!" she complained. Limping over to the sofa she managed to awkwardly sit down beside the Copy-nin himself.

Rolling his eyes at her theatrics, he asked once again.

"So? Any plans?"

Kagome stopped rubbing her sore leg and leaned her back on the couch. She knew what she had to do, but she wasn't so sure of how she'd make it work.

"I guess I'll have to go find Shippo" she said at last. "If he hasn't found me in these last months he's either too far away to have heard the rumors or too busy fighting the youkai himself to come investigate, so I'll have to go look for him. His help would be invaluable in a situation like this. And he might know where Inuyasha and the rest are, too."

Kakashi frowned. What she said made sense, but...

"And what about the people in Konoha? If we get attacked by youkai then we'll be unable to defend ourselves" he said, his head bowed down, staring at his intertwined fingers. He clearly didn't like being so helpless. "Of course, I know you owe us nothing..."

She slapped his arm, offended.

"Don't be stupid!" she cut him off. "I'm not about to let you fend for yourselves, give me a little credit. We'll just have to figure out a way to protect the village while I'm away."

Kakashi nodded his head, relieved. If she'd decided to leave there wasn't much they could have done to prevent it. Of course, they could hold her back against her will, but it would be useless if she decided to stop protecting them.

"We could always dispatch a search party to look for this Shippo" he suggested.

Kagome negated with her head.

"No, that wouldn't work. We're searching for a fox demon here, a master of illusions. He won't be found if he doesn't want to, so I'll have to go to sense his aura" she explained. "Of course, that would only work if he were in a rather close proximity, so we'll have to rely on luck alone for the most part. If he's searching for me, then our best bet is to spread the rumors about what's happened here as we go, so he'll be able to follow the lead."

They both remained in silence for a while.

"So..." the masked jounin started. "How are we going to ensure that the village remains protected long enough for us to search for this youkai of yours?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.

"Us?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Why, of course, Kagome-chan! Don't forget that I'm not to let you out of my sight at any time" the Copy-nin answered, grinning through his mask.

This time the miko laughed out loud.

"Okay then, us it is" she conceded.

"But there's still the issue of the village's protection" he objected.

Sighing tiredly, she stretched on her seat.

"I guess I'll have to set another barrier around the village, one that will stand longer than the last one..." she ventured. "that'll leave the village rather isolated, but protected nonetheless."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. It wasn't like they weren't being already isolated anyway, since this whole demon thing started.

"How long will you be able to keep it up?"

Kagome thought on the answer for a while. If she remembered correctly, the barrier she'd set back in the feudal era had stood strong for nearly a month. But then again, back then she'd been more in shape with her powers than she was now.

"I'd say three weeks, a month tops" she responded at last. "We shouldn't risk staying away that long, however, just in case I'm mistaken. I'd say we take expeditions of two weeks, so there's plenty of time to set the barrier back up before it crumbles down."

"All right, then, we'll have to inform the Hokage tomorrow and make the necessary preparations" he said.

"Okay" she answered, considering the conversation finished. When Kakashi made no move to get up from the lumpy sofa, she gave him a curious stare. "Is there anything else you wanted?" she asked.

"Actually, " he said "there's one more thing I wanted to ask you."

She squirmed slightly under his intense stare, but held his gaze.

"The part of the story you omitted earlier..." he watched as she stiffened at the mention. So he hadn't been mistaken, she _had_ omitted something."I'm not going to ask what it was, because I believe that you've already told us more than you wanted to say, and I know that there are some things better left in the dark."

He watched as the tension slowly ebbed away prom her shoulders, her entire posture relaxing at that declaration.

"However, I expect that if there's anything we should know, even if it's difficult for you to talk about it, you will tell us when the time comes" he concluded.

Her shoulders sagged tiredly, as if the mere mention of those memories put a heavy burden on her very soul. She remained silent long enough that Kakashi was about to leave her to her own thoughts when she finally spoke again.

"It's not something I'm too keen on telling anyone" she said looking down at her hands. "It was a long time ago, and the memories, good and foul, only make me depressed, for what I lost and what I went through. A good friend of mine told me that it's no use dwelling on the past, and he was right, you know" she looked up to hold his gaze. "However, I don't think anything I left out of my tale will have any influence on what's happening now, but if I find out it does, I promise to tell you ."

He just nodded, accepting her words for all they were worth. They were virtually strangers, for even if they had know each other for a couple of months, they knew next to nothing of each other's past up until that day. Perhaps he'd have to repay her somehow and tell her about himself one day. He hadn't missed the curious looks she threw at his mask when she thought he wasn't looking. He was broken out of his musings when she spoke once again.

"You know" she started, looking at some point beyond the open window that overlooked konoha's night, "I might tell you anyway one of these days."

His single visible eyebrow rose in surprise at that declaration, but she wasn't finished.

"Thank you for understanding, Kakashi, you are a good man" she said, leaning into him to peck his uncovered cheek lightly. Then she got up and disappeared through the bathroom door.

Said jounin sat there, lightly touching the spot where her lips had grazed his skin and wondering why on earth his heart had decided to start making somersaults inside his chest.

_**There you have it, the sixth chapter of this story, I hope you enjoyed it! Please, be kind enough to leave a review!**_


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